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Renters: mean income after housing costs by state

California has the highest estimate ($72,809); West Virginia has the lowest ($35,230). Source: U.S. Census Bureau; calculations by Rank the States, ACS 1-year PUMS, 2024.

Data year: 2024Source released Dec. 4, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026ACS PUMS 2024: renters

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

Experimental independent estimate. This ranking uses household means, which are sensitive to high incomes. Method, distribution measures and review status.

Lowest state estimate $35,230 West Virginia
Highest state estimate $72,809 California
California: $72,809 Washington: $70,012 New York: $69,342 Hawaii: $68,546 Massachusetts: $66,334 New Jersey: $66,257 Virginia: $60,725 Maryland: $60,602 Colorado: $60,440 Alaska: $59,896 Arizona: $57,070 Utah: $56,442 New Hampshire: $56,389 Connecticut: $54,341 Illinois: $53,711 Oregon: $53,081 Texas: $52,737 Vermont: $52,563 Nevada: $52,132 North Dakota: $51,915 Montana: $51,774 Florida: $51,436 Georgia: $51,329 Delaware: $51,289 Wyoming: $50,954 Idaho: $50,391 Minnesota: $49,254 Kansas: $49,239 North Carolina: $48,830 Pennsylvania: $47,706 Rhode Island: $47,610 Tennessee: $47,532 South Dakota: $47,212 Wisconsin: $47,194 New Mexico: $45,592 Nebraska: $44,202 Missouri: $44,168 South Carolina: $44,025 Maine: $44,021 Oklahoma: $43,229 Indiana: $42,257 Ohio: $41,968 Kentucky: $41,844 Michigan: $41,631 Iowa: $41,570 Alabama: $40,185 Arkansas: $39,235 Mississippi: $37,393 Louisiana: $37,132 West Virginia: $35,230
Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is $50,672: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

One other state is statistically tied with California at 90% confidence: Hawaii. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error$32,885$73,598CaliforniaWashingtonNew YorkHawaiiMassachusettsNew JerseyVirginiaMarylandColoradoAlaska

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

How does this compare with renter housing cost burden?

These states’ ranks change the most between renters: mean income after housing costs and renter housing cost burden. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

StateRenters: mean income after housing costsRenter housing cost burden
Alaska$59,896 · #1037.4% · #49
Louisiana$37,132 · #4947.2% · #18
North Dakota$51,915 · #2033.8% · #50

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

Household means, medians, and percentiles

The ranking above uses a weighted mean, with replicate-weight uncertainty. The following distribution table shows why a mean can sit far above the middle household. Percentiles are separately calculated point estimates; their uncertainty is not estimated here. Annual resources are before taxes and non-housing expenses.

Inspect household distributions and sample sizes for all 50 states
State25th percentileMedian75th percentileBelow $0Sample households
California$14,430$47,397$99,17511.7%50,398
Washington$16,610$47,041$91,07610.67%8,983
New York$10,014$39,167$88,35013.87%25,985
Hawaii$18,014$47,620$91,6079.46%1,518
Massachusetts$12,090$42,356$92,76711.3%8,792
New Jersey$13,760$43,875$90,57711.23%9,558
Virginia$15,162$42,631$82,67610.95%8,843
Maryland$13,980$41,245$87,69712.17%5,594
Colorado$15,436$44,259$82,14111.38%6,416
Alaska$22,454$47,769$75,7735.24%589
Arizona$16,149$41,991$78,21311.0%6,974
Utah$20,162$45,500$78,0688.49%2,601
New Hampshire$12,569$42,315$80,10110.77%1,115
Connecticut$10,528$34,238$72,26612.85%3,636
Illinois$10,429$34,877$73,28913.16%11,552
Oregon$12,579$38,756$75,83913.26%5,095
Texas$13,165$36,917$71,29711.5%29,044
Vermont$14,416$39,132$74,3149.91%486
Nevada$12,789$36,939$74,30513.62%4,011
North Dakota$15,458$38,532$71,2139.41%733
Montana$14,720$36,628$71,5109.88%957
Florida$11,505$35,080$70,25213.01%20,404
Georgia$11,886$36,118$72,16412.48%10,227
Delaware$13,278$39,243$71,7179.45%701
Wyoming$11,979$31,195$65,6568.85%544
Idaho$14,378$38,381$70,1909.67%1,674
Minnesota$13,585$34,830$66,71010.32%3,608
Kansas$14,333$34,795$65,7438.87%2,769
North Carolina$11,906$33,742$65,95311.43%11,081
Pennsylvania$10,317$32,763$66,46912.66%11,177
Rhode Island$10,429$32,016$65,94410.93%1,184
Tennessee$12,098$34,285$65,85010.95%7,127
South Dakota$14,951$33,022$57,7708.06%797
Wisconsin$13,741$35,827$67,8278.94%4,626
New Mexico$9,777$30,373$64,55912.35%1,778
Nebraska$12,616$34,941$62,5369.3%1,842
Missouri$11,779$31,970$60,89110.68%5,974
South Carolina$9,847$31,036$63,59013.36%4,263
Maine$11,149$31,056$61,8378.21%1,044
Oklahoma$11,546$31,267$58,58811.95%3,798
Indiana$10,806$30,206$57,81311.77%6,069
Ohio$10,235$30,871$60,30611.82%11,659
Kentucky$9,455$30,381$59,06311.59%4,279
Michigan$9,091$29,634$58,02413.69%7,218
Iowa$10,863$30,216$61,18610.58%2,646
Alabama$8,888$29,138$60,18412.95%4,280
Arkansas$11,075$27,538$55,4219.4%2,915
Mississippi$8,508$26,055$51,20413.27%2,448
Louisiana$7,374$24,817$51,28014.69%4,119
West Virginia$7,918$24,494$50,62912.04%1,434

Read the microdata method and reproduce the calculation. No independent statistical review is claimed.

The state-by-state view

Download table

Ranked among 50 states; District of Columbia shown for reference. Rank 1 = highest value.

Renters: mean income after housing costs · 2024 · U.S. dollars
RankState / jurisdictionValue90% margin of errorDifference from previous rank
1California$72,809± $789Highest estimate
2Washington$70,012± $1,967Different at 90%
3New York$69,342± $1,226Not distinguishable at 90%
4Hawaii$68,546± $4,700Not distinguishable at 90%
5Massachusetts$66,334± $1,783Not distinguishable at 90%
6New Jersey$66,257± $1,401Not distinguishable at 90%
7Virginia$60,725± $1,448Different at 90%
8Maryland$60,602± $2,223Not distinguishable at 90%
9Colorado$60,440± $1,905Not distinguishable at 90%
10Alaska$59,896± $5,730Not distinguishable at 90%
11Arizona$57,070± $1,635Not distinguishable at 90%
12Utah$56,442± $2,071Not distinguishable at 90%
13New Hampshire$56,389± $4,602Not distinguishable at 90%
14Connecticut$54,341± $2,519Not distinguishable at 90%
15Illinois$53,711± $1,351Not distinguishable at 90%
16Oregon$53,081± $1,636Not distinguishable at 90%
17Texas$52,737± $715Not distinguishable at 90%
18Vermont$52,563± $4,362Not distinguishable at 90%
19Nevada$52,132± $2,179Not distinguishable at 90%
20North Dakota$51,915± $4,779Not distinguishable at 90%
21Montana$51,774± $4,642Not distinguishable at 90%
22Florida$51,436± $874Not distinguishable at 90%
23Georgia$51,329± $1,383Not distinguishable at 90%
24Delaware$51,289± $3,527Not distinguishable at 90%
25Wyoming$50,954± $5,731Not distinguishable at 90%
26Idaho$50,391± $2,619Not distinguishable at 90%
27Minnesota$49,254± $1,969Not distinguishable at 90%
28Kansas$49,239± $2,168Not distinguishable at 90%
29North Carolina$48,830± $1,388Not distinguishable at 90%
30Pennsylvania$47,706± $1,163Not distinguishable at 90%
31Rhode Island$47,610± $3,462Not distinguishable at 90%
32Tennessee$47,532± $1,508Not distinguishable at 90%
33South Dakota$47,212± $6,841Not distinguishable at 90%
34Wisconsin$47,194± $1,502Not distinguishable at 90%
35New Mexico$45,592± $2,764Not distinguishable at 90%
36Nebraska$44,202± $2,172Not distinguishable at 90%
37Missouri$44,168± $1,340Not distinguishable at 90%
38South Carolina$44,025± $1,645Not distinguishable at 90%
39Maine$44,021± $3,234Not distinguishable at 90%
40Oklahoma$43,229± $2,307Not distinguishable at 90%
41Indiana$42,257± $1,553Not distinguishable at 90%
42Ohio$41,968± $841Not distinguishable at 90%
43Kentucky$41,844± $1,705Not distinguishable at 90%
44Michigan$41,631± $1,273Not distinguishable at 90%
45Iowa$41,570± $2,199Not distinguishable at 90%
46Alabama$40,185± $1,524Not distinguishable at 90%
47Arkansas$39,235± $1,694Not distinguishable at 90%
48Mississippi$37,393± $1,913Not distinguishable at 90%
49Louisiana$37,132± $1,823Not distinguishable at 90%
50West Virginia$35,230± $2,345Not distinguishable at 90%
Ref.District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states$80,352± $4,103Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 1 reference row.

What this ranking measures

Weighted mean of annual household money income less annualized housing costs, calculated for renters in the 2024 ACS housing microdata. Income and housing amounts use their respective Census adjustment factors.

Before taxes and other living expenses. Not disposable income, savings, or a typical family budget. No-cash-rent homes, vacant homes, and group quarters are excluded; zero and negative income are retained. Means are sensitive to high incomes. Census allocation and top/bottom coding are retained. This is an experimental independent calculation, not an official Census table.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is $37,579. A national estimate is not calculated for this derived measure.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error that we calculated from the Census replicate weights. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

How income definitions change a ranking.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer
U.S. Census Bureau; calculations by Rank the States
Product / file
ACS 1-year PUMS · ACS PUMS 2024: renters
Period
2024
Unit
U.S. dollars
Calculation
Weighted mean of adjusted household income minus twelve times adjusted monthly housing costs. 90% MOE = 1.645 sqrt((4/80) sum((replicate mean - full mean)^2)). Signed replicate weights are retained. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage
The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence
Annual. Follows reviewed ACS PUMS releases.
Independence
Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

Download, cite, or embed

Download the default full table (CSV) or use the download above for the table’s current filter and order. Data dictionary and source metadata

Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Related rankings

State distributions: each mark is one state, from lowest to highest. Each row uses its own scale.

01

Renter housing cost burden

2024 · Census ACS

58.1% Florida · highest estimate 02

Monthly renter housing costs

2024 · Census ACS

$2,104 California · highest estimate 03

Owners with a mortgage: mean income after housing costs

2024 · Census PUMS

$157,270 Massachusetts · highest estimate

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