Household Income in The United States - Income By State

Income By State

In 2010, the median household income by state ranged from $35,693 in Mississippi to $66,334 in Maryland. California, with the highest median home price in the nation and home prices that far outpaced incomes, only ranked ninth with a median household income of $61,021. While California's median income was not near enough to afford the average California home or even a starter home, West Virginia, which had one of the nation's lowest median household incomes, also had the nation's lowest median home price.

By Census Bureau Region, of the 15 states with the highest median household income, only Minnesota is located in the Mid-West, while five are in the Northeast (New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York) three are in the South (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia), and the other six (Alaska, Hawaii, California, Washington, Colorado and Utah) are in the West.

The southern states had, on average, the lowest median household income, with nine of the country's fifteen poorest states located in the South. However, most of the poverty in the South is located in rural areas. Metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, Birmingham, Dallas, Houston, and Miami are areas within the southern states that have above average income levels. Overall, median household income tended to be the highest in the nation's most urbanized northeastern, upper midwestern and west coast states, while rural areas, mostly in the southern and mountain states (like New Mexico, Montana and Idaho), had the lowest median household income.

Median Household Income by State

Rank State 2009 2008 2007 2004–2006 Cost of Living Index 2009 Data adjusted for COL
1 Maryland $69,272 $70,545 $68,080 $62,372 124.81 $55,502
2 New Jersey $68,342 $70,378 $67,035 $64,169 128.47 $53,197
3 Connecticut $67,034 $68,595 $65,967 $59,972 130.22 $51,477
4 Alaska $66,953 $68,460 $64,333 $57,639 132.64 $50,477
5 Hawaii $64,098 $67,214 $63,746 $60,681 165.56 $38,716
6 Massachusetts $64,081 $65,401 $62,365 $56,236 117.8 $54,398
7 New Hampshire $60,567 $63,731 $62,369 $60,489 116.68 $51,909
8 Virginia $59,330 $61,233 $59,562 $55,108 97.66 $60,752
District of Columbia $59,290 $57,936 $54,317 $47,221 (2005) 139.92 $42,374
9 California $58,931 $61,021 $59,948 $53,770 132.56 $44,456
10 Delaware $56,860 $57,989 $54,610 $52,214 102.4 $55,527
11 Washington $56,548 $58,078 $55,591 $53,439 103.98 $54,384
12 Minnesota $55,616 $57,288 $55,082 $57,363 102.23 $54,403
13 Colorado $55,430 $56,993 $55,212 $54,039 102.23 $54,221
14 Utah $55,117 $56,633 $55,109 $55,179 95.15 $57,926
15 New York $54,659 $56,033 $53,514 $48,201 128.29 $42,606
16 Rhode Island $54,119 $55,701 $53,568 $52,003 123.25 $43,910
17 Illinois $53,966 $56,235 $54,124 $49,280 96.08 $56,168
18 Nevada $53,341 $56,361 $55,062 $50,819 101.39 $52,610
19 Wyoming $52,664 $53,207 $51,731 $47,227 98.66 $53,379
20 Vermont $51,618 $52,104 $49,907 $51,622 120.38 $42,879
United States $50,221 $52,029 $50,740 $46,242 (2005)
21 Wisconsin $49,993 $52,094 $50,578 $48,874 96.45 $51,833
22 Pennsylvania $49,520 $50,713 $48,576 $47,791 100.67 $49,190
23 Arizona $48,745 $50,958 $49,889 $46,729 103.73 $46,992
24 Oregon $48,457 $50,169 $48,730 $45,485 110.47 $43,864
25 Texas $48,259 $50,043 $47,548 $43,425 91.04 $53,009
26 Iowa $48,044 $48,980 $47,292 $47,489 93.98 $51,122
27 North Dakota $47,827 $45,685 $43,753 $43,753 95.91 $49,867
28 Kansas $47,817 $50,177 $47,451 $44,264 91.31 $52,368
29 Georgia $47,590 $50,861 $49,136 $46,841 92.21 $51,610
30 Nebraska $47,357 $49,693 $47,085 $48,126 91.09 $51,989
31 Maine $45,734 $46,581 $45,888 $45,040 116.42 $39,284
32 Indiana $45,424 $47,966 $47,448 $44,806 94.19 $48,226
33 Ohio $45,395 $47,988 $46,597 $45,837 93.85 $48,370
34 Michigan $45,255 $48,591 $47,950 $47,064 95.25 $47,512
35 Missouri $45,229 $46,867 $45,114 $44,651 91.66 $49,344
36 South Dakota $45,043 $46,032 $43,424 $44,624 98.53 $45,715
37 Idaho $44,926 $47,576 $46,253 $46,395 93.04 $48,287
38 Florida $44,736 $47,778 $47,804 $44,448 98.39 $45,468
39 North Carolina $43,674 $46,549 $44,670 $42,061 96.21 $45,394
40 New Mexico $43,028 $43,508 $41,452 $40,827 98.88 $43,515
41 Louisiana $42,492 $43,733 $40,926 $37,943 96.15 $44,193
42 South Carolina $44,625 $43,329 $40,822 98.71 $42,997
43 Montana $42,322 $43,654 $43,531 $38,629 100 $42,322
44 Tennessee $41,725 $43,614 $42,367 $40,676 89.49 $46,625
45 Oklahoma $41,664 $42,822 $41,567 $40,001 90.09 $46,247
46 Alabama $40,489 $42,666 $40,554 $38,473 92.74 $43,659
47 Kentucky $40,072 $41,538 $40,267 $38,466 89.21 $44,919
48 Arkansas $37,823 $38,815 $38,134 $37,420 90.61 $41,743
49 West Virginia $37,435 $37,989 $37,060 $37,227 94.4 $39,656
50 Mississippi $36,646 $37,790 $36,338 $35,261 92.26 $39,720

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