While the Social Security Administration has had to cease some services due to the COVID-19 outbreak, benefit recipients will continue to receive their checks, whether through direct deposit or in the mail.
That’s good news for the people who receive these benefits, especially now that other forms of income may be limited or not at all available. But just how many people receive Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits? Each year, the SSA compiles data on the total number of recipients, drilling all the way down to the ZIP Code level.
To keep this report a bit easier to digest, we looked at the latest SSA numbers (for 2018) and break down how many people collect Social Security by state. In total, there were nearly 63 million Social Security beneficiaries in the United States in 2018 receiving more than $84 billion in total benefits. The vast majority (43.7 million) were retired workers, followed by disabled workers at just over 8.5 million.
For the purposes of this report, we looked at the total number of recipients in each state. We also broke out recipients over the age of 65 whether they were retired, disabled or receiving survivor benefits.
Here are the total number of Social Security benefit recipients in every U.S. state:
Alabama
Total monthly recipients: 1,143,125
Recipients age 65 or older: 762,451
Total monthly benefits: $1.47 billion
Alaska
Total monthly recipients: 101,402
Recipients age 65 or older: 74,537
Total monthly benefits: $131 million
Arizona
Total monthly recipients: 1,349,458
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,049,491
Total monthly benefits: $1.87 billion
Arkansas
Total monthly recipients: 696,936
Recipients age 65 or older: 468,661
Total monthly benefits: $871 million
California
Total monthly recipients: 5,962,804
Recipients age 65 or older: 4,682,586
Total monthly benefits: $7.93 billion
Connecticut
Total monthly recipients: 681,765
Recipients age 65 or older: 538,190
Total monthly benefits: $1.02 billion
Colorado
Total monthly recipients: 874,819
Recipients age 65 or older: 687,325
Total monthly benefits: $1.2 billion
Delaware
Total monthly recipients: 213,246
Recipients age 65 or older: 163,644
Total monthly benefits: $314 million
Florida
Total monthly recipients: 4,626,156
Recipients age 65 or older: 3,588,191
Total monthly benefits: $6.26 billion
Georgia
Total monthly recipients: 1,830,266
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,299,615
Total monthly benefits: $2.41 billion
Hawaii
Total monthly recipients: 271,236
Recipients age 65 or older: 222,584
Total monthly benefits: $371 million
Idaho
Total monthly recipients: 346,243
Recipients age 65 or older: 261,270
Total monthly benefits: $458 million
Illinois
Total monthly recipients: 2,243,286
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,713,948
Total monthly benefits: $3.09 billion
Indiana
Total monthly recipients: 1,350,417
Recipients age 65 or older: 981,752
Total monthly benefits: $1.88 billion
Iowa
Total monthly recipients: 647,462
Recipients age 65 or older: 504,073
Total monthly benefits: $882 million
Kansas
Total monthly recipients: 552,973
Recipients age 65 or older: 419,144
Total monthly benefits: $768 million
Kentucky
Total monthly recipients: 989,575
Recipients age 65 or older: 658,874
Total monthly benefits: $1.24 billion
Louisiana
Total monthly recipients: 907,733
Recipients age 65 or older: 620,043
Total monthly benefits: $1.1 billion
Maine
Total monthly recipients: 344,482
Recipients age 65 or older: 251,573
Total monthly benefits: $434 million
Maryland
Total monthly recipients: 1,001,230
Recipients age 65 or older: 770,494
Total monthly benefits: $1.44 billion
Massachusetts
Total monthly recipients: 1,273,360
Recipients age 65 or older: 960,157
Total monthly benefits: $1,76 billion
Michigan
Total monthly recipients: 2,209,084
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,592,758
Total monthly benefits: $3.12 billion
Minnesota
Total monthly recipients: 1,032,697
Recipients age 65 or older: 809,205
Total monthly benefits: $1.46 billion
Mississippi
Total monthly recipients: 668,877
Recipients age 65 or older: 441,394
Total monthly benefits: $824 million
Missouri
Total monthly recipients: 1,293,897
Recipients age 65 or older: 929,485
Total monthly benefits: $1.71 billion
Montana
Total monthly recipients: 233,801
Recipients age 65 or older: 180,677
Total monthly benefits: $303 million
Nebraska
Total monthly recipients: 345,725
Recipients age 65 or older: 271,002
Total monthly benefits: $469 million
Nevada
Total monthly recipients: 536,855
Recipients age 65 or older: 410,535
Total monthly benefits: $723 million
New Hampshire
Total monthly recipients: 305,855
Recipients age 65 or older: 226,999
Total monthly benefits: $438 million
New Jersey
Total monthly recipients: 1,625,600
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,272,904
Total monthly benefits: $2.44 billion
New Mexico
Total monthly recipients: 436,551
Recipients age 65 or older: 318,723
Total monthly benefits: $549 million
New York
Total monthly recipients: 3,627,340
Recipients age 65 or older: 2,756,182
Total monthly benefits: $5.04 billion
North Carolina
Total monthly recipients: 2,098,741
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,532,383
Total monthly benefits: $2.83 billion
North Dakota
Total monthly recipients: 133,773
Recipients age 65 or older: 105,788
Total monthly benefits: $174 million
Ohio
Total monthly recipients: 2,356,367
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,740,512
Total monthly benefits: $3.11 billion
Oklahoma
Total monthly recipients: 789,288
Recipients age 65 or older: 563,777
Total monthly benefits: $1.02 billion
Oregon
Total monthly recipients: 871,988
Recipients age 65 or older: 679,533
Total monthly benefits: $1.19 billion
Pennsylvania
Total monthly recipients: 2,825,178
Recipients age 65 or older: 2,128,654
Total monthly benefits: $3.93 billion
Rhode Island
Total monthly recipients: 225,493
Recipients age 65 or older: 166,444
Total monthly benefits: $308 million
South Carolina
Total monthly recipients: 1,143,297
Recipients age 65 or older: 829,060
Total monthly benefits: $1.55 billion
South Dakota
Total monthly recipients: 178,999
Recipients age 65 or older: 141,884
Total monthly benefits: $233 million
Tennessee
Total monthly recipients: 1,452,552
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,024,517
Total monthly benefits: $1.91 billion
Texas
Total monthly recipients: 4,224,159
Recipients age 65 or older: 3,129,831
Total monthly benefits: $5.50 billion
Utah
Total monthly recipients: 406,568
Recipients age 65 or older: 309,952
Total monthly benefits: $559 million
Vermont
Total monthly recipients: 150,319
Recipients age 65 or older: 113,321
Total monthly benefits: $204 million
Virginia
Total monthly recipients: 1,530,417
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,153,798
Total monthly benefits: $2.12 billion
Washington
Total monthly recipients: 1,346,820
Recipients age 65 or older: 1,042,649
Total monthly benefits: $1.91 billion
West Virginia
Total monthly recipients: 475,744
Recipients age 65 or older: 326,489
Total monthly benefits: $613 million
Wisconsin
Total monthly recipients: 1,233,379
Recipients age 65 or older: 934,831
Total monthly benefits: $1.72 billion
Wyoming
Total monthly recipients: 112,386
Recipients age 65 or older: 86,041
Total monthly benefits: $156 million
What you need to know about Social Security
In 2019, an estimated 64 million Americans collected Social Security benefits, and 61% of Americans aged 60 to 70 consider Social Security as an “extremely important” source of income. Nevertheless, a great deal of confusion exists around the rules and this often causes people to miss out on much needed money. Knowing how age impacts Social Security is important, but it is but a first step on a journey of education.
Increasingly, online Social Security blogs and free calculators are emerging to help people avoid costly mistakes (we believe the SimplyWise Calculator is the best). Hopefully, with better education around the topic, Americans can maximize what they’ve earned.