Hawaii’s state add-on to Supplemental Security Income averaged $616.40 a month in August, on top of the federal check. New Jersey’s averaged $36.32. Social Security’s August 2026 statistics show how far apart the 12 places that use Social Security to pay a state supplement have grown.

The 12 places, ranked

Social Security lists 11 states and the District of Columbia where it pays the state supplement on the state’s behalf. The August average for each, from highest to lowest:

• Hawaii: $616.40
• Pennsylvania: $543.28
• District of Columbia: $469.17
• Rhode Island: $294.25
• Iowa: $262.57
• California: $241.51
• Delaware: $135.17
• Michigan: $112.50
• Montana: $84.61
• Vermont: $57.78
• Nevada: $41.62
• New Jersey: $36.32

The average across all of those areas was $211.91. Hawaii’s figure is $580.08 above New Jersey’s and nearly three times the overall average. The numbers exclude retroactive payments, according to the table’s notes.

For people who live in one of the 12 places, the question is how much of the federal check is topped up where they live, and what in their own life moves it. Rules differ by state, and the same person can see a different add-on after a move, a change of living arrangement or a change in income.

A state add-on of $36 or $616 sits on top of an SSI check that income and savings can still shrink. The SSI & Disability Action Kit sets out the 2026 SSI income and resource limits and the review and reporting steps behind them.

See the 2026 SSI limits and reporting steps in the SSI & Disability Action Kit →

What the averages cover

SSI is the federal program that pays people who are 65 or older, blind or disabled and have little income and few savings. In 2026 the federal benefit rate is $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple, and Social Security says some states add their own payments on top. Amounts “vary based upon your income, living arrangements, and other factors.”

The table covers only supplements that Social Security itself pays. The agency says 33 other states run their own supplements and pay them directly. Seven places have none: Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, the Northern Mariana Islands, Tennessee and West Virginia. A person in one of those states will not see their add-on in this table, so the ranking is not a ranking of every state.

Six of the 12, namely Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, are marked on the agency’s list as splitting the work with the state. In those places Social Security pays only some categories of supplement, so the averages describe only that part.

Why Hawaii leads and New Jersey trails

The table shows the gap but not the reasons for it. Social Security does not say why one state’s average is so far above another’s, and the table is a count of payments, not a description of state rules. What it does show is that the mix of recipients matters. In Hawaii the average for blind and disabled recipients is $633.20, against $576.85 for aged recipients. For children under 18 the Hawaii average is only $45.00.

New Jersey’s averages are low and close together: $34.77 for aged recipients, $36.76 for blind and disabled recipients and $31.37 for children. Nevada’s average is $41.62 overall, but its figure for blind and disabled recipients is $104.39, more than two and a half times its figure for aged recipients at $38.94.

In Iowa the pattern runs the other way. Aged recipients average $431.57 there, well above the $257.46 for blind and disabled recipients.

Where Hawaii stood in June

The August number is not a long-term fixture. Social Security’s June 2026 table put the Hawaii average at $618.77, about $2.37 higher than in August, and the all-areas average at $211.90. Monthly averages move a little as people join and leave the rolls and as individual payments change.

That is a reminder that an average is not anyone’s check. A person’s own add-on depends on the state’s payment standard for their situation, and Social Security’s average is only a summary of everyone who received one.

Finding a state add-on and keeping it

The first step is to find out whether a state pays one. The list of states is on the SSI benefits page, and the main program page at ssa.gov/ssi explains how to apply. In the 33 states that run their own supplements, the state agency answers the question, not Social Security.

People already on SSI can compare their award letter with their monthly deposit. Anyone whose living arrangement changes, who moves or whose income or savings rise should tell Social Security, because those changes can alter both parts of the payment.

A short note of each month’s federal and state amounts, kept with the award letter, makes any later call to the agency faster. The August table is a snapshot of what Social Security paid on states’ behalf that month, and the agency posts a new one every month.

A $580 gap, and limits that apply everywhere

Whatever a state adds, the federal part of SSI still stops or shrinks when income or savings pass the limits. The SSI & Disability Action Kit lays out the 2026 SSI income and resource limits and the review and reporting steps, so a change in life does not turn into a surprise cut. It runs to 74 pages.

Get the SSI limits and reporting-steps kit before the next review →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.