The average Social Security benefit across the country can vary pretty widely, and that variance has as much to do with the types of benefits being received as it does how much or for how long a worker may have worked.
Some of the factors that impact a person’s benefits include:
- Whether they are receiving disability, retirement or survivor benefits
- How much the worker who earned those benefits earned
- How much additional income they may have
Social Security benefits, also known as Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), provides roughly a third of the income for most of the retired people who receive it. Without it, many people in the United States would struggle to survive.
Yet as the coronavirus pandemic puts stress on Americans, some of the efforts implemented to help the economy could actually hurt Social Security beneficiaries. For example, cutting payroll taxes to 0% removes Social Security’s main revenue source and further defunds the program.
In total, the Social Security Administration pays out benefits in the billions. In 2018, the last year for which data is available, Social Security beneficiaries received more than $84 billion in total benefits More than two thirds of those were retired workers.
We took a look at Social Security data for 2018 and broke down the average monthly benefit received by beneficiaries in every state. These data include benefits for retirees, survivors and the disabled.
Here are the total number of recipients and the average monthly Social Security benefits in every U.S. state:
Alabama
Total monthly recipients: 1,143,125
Average monthly benefit: $1,286
Alaska
Total monthly recipients: 101,402
Average monthly benefit: $1,292
Arizona
Total monthly recipients: 1,349,458
Average monthly benefit: $1,386
Arkansas
Total monthly recipients: 696,936
Average monthly benefit: $1,250
California
Total monthly recipients: 5,962,804
Average monthly benefit: $1,330
Connecticut
Total monthly recipients: 681,765
Average monthly benefit: $1,496
Colorado
Total monthly recipients: 874,819
Average monthly benefit: $1,372
Delaware
Total monthly recipients: 213,246
Average monthly benefit: $1,472
Florida
Total monthly recipients: 4,626,156
Average monthly benefit: $1,353
Georgia
Total monthly recipients: 1,830,266
Average monthly benefit: $1,317
Hawaii
Total monthly recipients: 271,236
Average monthly benefit: $1,368
Idaho
Total monthly recipients: 346,243
Average monthly benefit: $1,323
Illinois
Total monthly recipients: 2,243,286
Average monthly benefit: $1,377
Indiana
Total monthly recipients: 1,350,417
Average monthly benefit: $1,392
Iowa
Total monthly recipients: 647,462
Average monthly benefit: $1,362
Kansas
Total monthly recipients: 552,973
Average monthly benefit: $1,389
Kentucky
Total monthly recipients: 989,575
Average monthly benefit: $1,253
Louisiana
Total monthly recipients: 907,733
Average monthly benefit: $1,212
Maine
Total monthly recipients: 344,482
Average monthly benefit: $1,260
Maryland
Total monthly recipients: 1,001,230
Average monthly benefit: $1,438
Massachusetts
Total monthly recipients: 1,273,360
Average monthly benefit: $1,382
Michigan
Total monthly recipients: 2,209,084
Average monthly benefit: $1,412
Minnesota
Total monthly recipients: 1,032,697
Average monthly benefit: $1,414
Mississippi
Total monthly recipients: 668,877
Average monthly benefit: $1,232
Missouri
Total monthly recipients: 1,293,897
Average monthly benefit: $1,322
Montana
Total monthly recipients: 233,801
Average monthly benefit: $1,296
Nebraska
Total monthly recipients: 345,725
Average monthly benefit: $1,357
Nevada
Total monthly recipients: 536,855
Average monthly benefit: $1,347
New Hampshire
Total monthly recipients: 305,855
Average monthly benefit: $1,432
New Jersey
Total monthly recipients: 1,625,600
Average monthly benefit: $1,501
New Mexico
Total monthly recipients: 436,551
Average monthly benefit: $1,258
New York
Total monthly recipients: 3,627,340
Average monthly benefit: $1,389
North Carolina
Total monthly recipients: 2,098,741
Average monthly benefit: $1,348
North Dakota
Total monthly recipients: 133,773
Average monthly benefit: $1,301
Ohio
Total monthly recipients: 2,356,367
Average monthly benefit: $1,320
Oklahoma
Total monthly recipients: 789,288
Average monthly benefit: $1,292
Oregon
Total monthly recipients: 871,988
Average monthly benefit: $1,365
Pennsylvania
Total monthly recipients: 2,825,178
Average monthly benefit: $1,391
Rhode Island
Total monthly recipients: 225,493
Average monthly benefit: $1,366
South Carolina
Total monthly recipients: 1,143,297
Average monthly benefit: $1,356
South Dakota
Total monthly recipients: 178,999
Average monthly benefit: $1,302
Tennessee
Total monthly recipients: 1,452,552
Average monthly benefit: $1,315
Texas
Total monthly recipients: 4,224,159
Average monthly benefit: $1,302
Utah
Total monthly recipients: 406,568
Average monthly benefit: $1,375
Vermont
Total monthly recipients: 150,319
Average monthly benefit: $1,357
Virginia
Total monthly recipients: 1,530,417
Average monthly benefit: $1,385
Washington
Total monthly recipients: 1,346,820
Average monthly benefit: $1,418
West Virginia
Total monthly recipients: 475,744
Average monthly benefit: $1,289
Wisconsin
Total monthly recipients: 1,233,379
Average monthly benefit: $1,395
Wyoming
Total monthly recipients: 112,386
Average monthly benefit: $1,388
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 view 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.