Money & economy
rankings by state.

Choose the income population first

Household and family medians include different people. A family requires related people in the same household; a household may be a person living alone or unrelated housemates. Poverty counts people against a threshold, while household income describes resources pooled within a housing unit. The price-adjusted measure applies a statewide price index to a household median. Our income-after-housing calculations instead subtract each sampled household’s own costs before aggregation. These are distinct ways of asking about resources, not interchangeable versions of “richest.” GDP measures production located in a state, not residents’ income, and GDP per capita divides it by residents even when part of the output is produced by commuters or capital.

To compare purchasing power, use the same-year price adjustment and read its unquantified index uncertainty. To understand remaining resources by tenure, use the microdata means alongside the supporting medians and percentiles. Do not compare a pre-tax income residual to disposable income, or treat a state mean as a budget for a particular family.

Choose the measure that answers your question

The linked pages retain exact source precision for ranks, show true ties, and display uncertainty where it is available. The comparison tool lets you inspect selected states without changing their rank among the full 50-state universe. Shared comparisons preserve their data edition.