Senior Income by State: 2026 Report
Median income for households headed by someone 65 or older, the share of people 65 and older below the poverty line, and how many live alone, for every state in 2025. Every number comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, linked below with its date.
Median income of households headed by someone 65 or older
Census ACS · 2025Median income of all U.S. households
Census ACS · 2025People 65 and older below the poverty line
Census ACS · 2025People 65 and older in households who live alone
Census ACS · 2025These are survey estimates, not a count.
The American Community Survey asks a sample of households each year, so every number has a margin of error. The CSV includes the margin of error for median income. Differences of a few hundred dollars or a few tenths of a percent between states may not be real differences.
Look up a state
Pick a state on the map or from the list to see its numbers. Our report on funeral costs by state uses the same map for funeral prices in each region.
Key findings
Households headed by someone 65 or older had a median income of $61,989 in 2025, $22,791 less than the $84,780 median for all U.S. households.
Census ACS 1-year estimates, 2025 (released October 29, 2026).
About 7.1 million people 65 and older, 11.2%, lived below the poverty line in 2025.
Census ACS 1-year estimates, 2025.
Hawaii had the highest median income for households headed by someone 65 or older, $91,116. West Virginia had the lowest, $46,931.
Census ACS 1-year estimates, 2025.
Louisiana had the highest poverty rate for people 65 and older of the 50 states, 15.5%, and Alaska and New Hampshire the lowest, 7.0%. Washington, D.C.'s rate was 17.8%.
Census ACS 1-year estimates, 2025.
About 16.7 million people 65 and older lived alone in 2025, 26.5% of those living in households. North Dakota had the highest share of the 50 states, 32.4%.
Census ACS 1-year estimates, 2025.
Median income at 65 and older: top 10 and bottom 10
Median income of households headed by someone 65 or older, 2025. Includes Washington, D.C.
Highest 10
Lowest 10
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025 (released October 29, 2026), table B19049.
State table
Income, poverty and living alone for people 65 and older in each state, 2025. Median income is for households headed by someone 65 or older.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Alabama | $50,908 | $67,663 | 12.0% | 118,727 | 28.8% |
| Alaska | $72,408 | $95,220 | 7.0% | 8,013 | 26.4% |
| Arizona | $64,644 | $82,940 | 10.5% | 162,831 | 24.1% |
| Arkansas | $50,183 | $65,588 | 12.8% | 73,851 | 28.4% |
| California | $75,584 | $102,159 | 11.9% | 805,953 | 22.0% |
| Colorado | $71,449 | $99,729 | 9.8% | 99,118 | 26.3% |
| Connecticut | $75,184 | $100,056 | 8.7% | 64,114 | 27.9% |
| Delaware | $71,156 | $92,520 | 8.8% | 20,864 | 24.8% |
| District of Columbia | $64,957 | $109,505 | 17.8% | 16,325 | 43.1% |
| Florida | $61,637 | $80,846 | 12.1% | 636,318 | 24.4% |
| Georgia | $59,699 | $81,847 | 12.2% | 226,116 | 25.0% |
| Hawaii | $91,116 | $105,013 | 9.4% | 30,185 | 20.0% |
| Idaho | $60,574 | $84,234 | 9.1% | 33,794 | 24.0% |
| Illinois | $62,826 | $86,676 | 10.5% | 243,376 | 29.5% |
| Indiana | $53,130 | $74,516 | 9.8% | 122,950 | 28.4% |
| Iowa | $56,864 | $76,483 | 10.1% | 62,771 | 31.1% |
| Kansas | $59,917 | $77,824 | 9.0% | 48,972 | 29.4% |
| Kentucky | $48,542 | $66,447 | 13.1% | 110,988 | 30.1% |
| Louisiana | $47,391 | $65,139 | 15.5% | 132,240 | 29.3% |
| Maine | $60,410 | $81,760 | 9.9% | 33,613 | 27.2% |
| Maryland | $77,599 | $107,700 | 10.5% | 118,750 | 27.1% |
| Massachusetts | $70,107 | $106,539 | 10.5% | 145,157 | 28.0% |
| Michigan | $57,075 | $75,832 | 10.7% | 217,447 | 29.3% |
| Minnesota | $65,242 | $92,297 | 8.1% | 87,485 | 28.0% |
| Mississippi | $47,199 | $59,346 | 14.0% | 78,598 | 29.0% |
| Missouri | $55,661 | $75,485 | 10.9% | 130,483 | 29.9% |
| Montana | $54,814 | $77,099 | 10.5% | 26,486 | 29.4% |
| Nebraska | $60,928 | $81,614 | 8.8% | 31,670 | 28.6% |
| Nevada | $67,916 | $85,198 | 10.3% | 61,667 | 23.9% |
| New Hampshire | $75,611 | $106,759 | 7.0% | 22,086 | 25.5% |
| New Jersey | $76,677 | $107,797 | 10.0% | 174,125 | 25.9% |
| New Mexico | $55,419 | $70,342 | 13.5% | 60,358 | 28.7% |
| New York | $63,012 | $89,210 | 14.1% | 530,590 | 28.6% |
| North Carolina | $57,593 | $77,638 | 10.9% | 227,669 | 26.6% |
| North Dakota | $61,109 | $81,545 | 9.4% | 12,989 | 32.4% |
| Ohio | $54,710 | $74,804 | 10.7% | 250,955 | 30.8% |
| Oklahoma | $53,044 | $68,441 | 11.6% | 83,741 | 28.9% |
| Oregon | $64,960 | $86,953 | 10.0% | 87,452 | 27.0% |
| Pennsylvania | $58,611 | $81,473 | 10.5% | 284,277 | 28.5% |
| Rhode Island | $66,884 | $91,039 | 10.5% | 23,988 | 28.6% |
| South Carolina | $57,720 | $73,672 | 11.3% | 130,521 | 25.2% |
| South Dakota | $60,564 | $80,506 | 11.0% | 19,421 | 26.9% |
| Tennessee | $54,442 | $75,875 | 11.5% | 152,755 | 26.3% |
| Texas | $61,480 | $82,625 | 12.2% | 562,605 | 23.8% |
| Utah | $69,889 | $99,311 | 10.3% | 46,840 | 21.0% |
| Vermont | $62,064 | $86,018 | 8.5% | 12,898 | 28.3% |
| Virginia | $72,907 | $99,322 | 9.1% | 146,192 | 25.5% |
| Washington | $72,150 | $101,946 | 9.9% | 141,880 | 25.4% |
| West Virginia | $46,931 | $61,340 | 13.3% | 51,622 | 29.5% |
| Wisconsin | $57,556 | $80,213 | 10.2% | 124,458 | 29.4% |
| Wyoming | $68,834 | $80,894 | 8.0% | 9,857 | 22.8% |
Tap a column name to sort, or a row to open that state above. The CSV also has the margin of error for median income and the counts behind each percentage.
What these numbers leave out
Median income counts money coming in over the past 12 months, such as Social Security, pensions, retirement withdrawals and wages. It does not count savings, home equity or other things a household owns. A retired couple with a paid-off house and a low income shows up the same as one that rents.
The poverty rate uses the federal poverty line, which does not change by state, so it does not reflect how much more it costs to live in some states. Living alone counts people 65 and older in homes and apartments. People in nursing homes and other group housing are not included.
For what a funeral costs in each region, see our report on funeral costs by state. For agents, our guide to final expense callers checking prices covers callers who are comparing what they can pay each month.
Methodology and sources
Source
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, released October 29, 2026. We used the ACS 1-year summary file tables for each state, Washington, D.C. and the nation, downloaded November 12, 2026.
Median income
Table B19049, median household income in the past 12 months in 2025 dollars: householder 65 years and over, and all households.
Poverty
Table B17001, poverty status in the past 12 months by sex by age. We added men and women 65 to 74 and 75 and over below the poverty line, and divided by everyone 65 and older for whom poverty status is known.
Living alone
Table B09021, living arrangements of adults by age: people 65 and older who live alone, divided by all people 65 and older living in households.
Margins of error
ACS numbers are estimates from a sample. The CSV has the Census Bureau's margin of error for median income. We did not calculate margins of error for the percentages we built from the tables.
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