How many people collect Social Security in every state?

How many people collect Social Security in every state?

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.