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Median Income by State in 2024, Adjusted for Cost of Living
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To gain insight into the U.S. economy, we’ve visualized the median income by state, as of May 2024. These figures come from WalletHub, which sourced income data from the U.S. Census Bureau and adjusted it for cost of living according to the Cost of Living Index (COLI).
Median income refers to the income level at the midpoint of the income distribution within each state. Using California as an example, half of the state’s households earn more than $124,000, while the other half earn less (after cost of living adjustments).
Data and Key Takeaways
All of the numbers we used to create this graphic are listed in the table below.
| Rank | State | Median Annual Income (adjusted for cost of living) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DC | $162,265 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $141,832 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $127,760 |
| 4 | Maryland | $124,693 |
| 5 | California | $123,988 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $117,847 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $114,156 |
| 8 | Alaska | $113,934 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $110,205 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $104,252 |
| 11 | Washington | $103,748 |
| 12 | Colorado | $97,301 |
| 13 | New York | $91,366 |
| 14 | Oregon | $91,100 |
| 15 | Utah | $89,786 |
| 16 | Vermont | $89,695 |
| 17 | Virginia | $89,393 |
| 18 | Delaware | $87,173 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $86,364 |
| 20 | Nevada | $80,366 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $79,874 |
| 22 | Maine | $79,800 |
| 23 | Illinois | $78,304 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $76,307 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | $74,711 |
| 26 | Arizona | $74,375 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $72,602 |
| 28 | Nebraska | $72,384 |
| 29 | Texas | $70,513 |
| 30 | Idaho | $70,041 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $69,266 |
| 32 | Iowa | $68,974 |
| 33 | Montana | $68,937 |
| 34 | Florida | $68,818 |
| 35 | Kansas | $68,489 |
| 36 | Georgia | $66,612 |
| 37 | Indiana | $64,170 |
| 38 | North Carolina | $63,025 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $62,909 |
| 40 | Michigan | $62,446 |
| 41 | Ohio | $61,904 |
| 42 | Missouri | $59,715 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $59,077 |
| 44 | New Mexico | $58,911 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $57,215 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $56,282 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $55,629 |
| 48 | Alabama | $55,480 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $52,719 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $51,032 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $46,880 |
The Cost of Living Index, published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), was established in 1968, and allows for consistent place-to-place cost comparisons.
The index considers six categories of spending: groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous.
After adjusting for COLI, the top three states by median income are the District of Columbia (DC) (technically a district), Hawaii, and Massachusetts.
In DC, federal government agencies are the biggest employers. Many of them offer high-paying jobs that require higher education and specialized skills. DC, like Hawaii, also has a relatively higher cost of living, which may push up the average salary.
In the case of Massachusetts, the state is home to many of the world’s most prestigious universities and research institutions, as well as high-earning sectors like healthcare and tech.
See More U.S. Maps From Visual Capitalist
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out Mapped: The Income Needed to Live Comfortably in Every U.S. State
The post Mapped: Median Income by State in 2024 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.