In 2021, Mississippi had 44,189 OASDI widow and parent beneficiaries, ranking it the 29th highest in the United States by number of beneficiaries, according to the Social Security Administration.
The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) is a program of the Social Security Administration funded primarily through payroll taxes. It was signed into law in 1935 by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The OASDI program aims to supplement a worker’s lost wages due to retirement, disability or death of a spouse.
The following table shows states ranked by number of widow and parent beneficiaries.
State Ranking by Number of Widow and Parent Beneficiaries in 2021
| Rank | State | Number of Widow and Parent Beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 357,843 |
| 2 | Texas | 314,188 |
| 3 | Florida | 267,242 |
| 4 | New York | 199,852 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 172,163 |
| 6 | Ohio | 166,308 |
| 7 | Illinois | 136,968 |
| 8 | Michigan | 132,812 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 114,752 |
| 10 | Georgia | 110,983 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 92,126 |
| 12 | Virginia | 90,389 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 89,029 |
| 14 | Indiana | 83,681 |
| 15 | Louisiana | 79,729 |
| 16 | Arizona | 78,274 |
| 17 | Missouri | 77,123 |
| 18 | Alabama | 75,339 |
| 19 | Washington | 73,354 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 71,665 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 66,880 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 64,405 |
| 23 | Massachusetts | 63,458 |
| 24 | Maryland | 53,947 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 53,832 |
| 26 | Minnesota | 52,033 |
| 27 | Colorado | 49,249 |
| 28 | Oregon | 47,848 |
| 29 | Mississippi | 44,189 |
| 30 | Arkansas | 43,154 |
| 31 | West Virginia | 38,978 |
| 32 | Iowa | 37,818 |
| 33 | Connecticut | 35,113 |
| 34 | Kansas | 32,493 |
| 35 | Nevada | 29,419 |
| 36 | New Mexico | 26,166 |
| 37 | Utah | 23,881 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 20,123 |
| 39 | Idaho | 19,823 |
| 40 | Maine | 18,496 |
| 41 | New Hampshire | 14,450 |
| 42 | Hawaii | 14,341 |
| 43 | Montana | 13,671 |
| 44 | Delaware | 11,562 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 10,659 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 10,256 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 9,092 |
| 48 | Vermont | 7,474 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 6,622 |
| 50 | Alaska | 5,416 |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 3,677 |
