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Richest and poorest states by household income

By median household income, the richest state is Massachusetts, at $104,828 a year in 2024, and the poorest is Mississippi, at $59,127. The national median was $81,604. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

We rank “richest” and “poorest” by median household income because it describes the typical household, not the few with the highest incomes. Rankings by wealth, average income or poverty rate can put some states in a different order. The poverty rate ranking shows the share of residents below the official poverty line.

Data year: 2024Source released Sept. 11, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026GCT1901

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.

Lowest state estimate $59,127 Mississippi
Highest state estimate $104,828 Massachusetts
Massachusetts: $104,828 New Jersey: $104,294 Maryland: $102,905 Hawaii: $100,745 California: $100,149 New Hampshire: $99,782 Washington: $99,389 Colorado: $97,113 Utah: $96,658 Connecticut: $96,049 Alaska: $95,665 Virginia: $92,090 Delaware: $87,534 Minnesota: $87,117 New York: $85,820 Oregon: $85,220 Rhode Island: $83,504 Illinois: $83,211 Vermont: $82,730 Arizona: $81,486 Idaho: $81,166 Nevada: $81,134 Georgia: $79,991 Texas: $79,721 North Dakota: $77,871 Florida: $77,735 Pennsylvania: $77,545 Wisconsin: $77,488 South Dakota: $76,881 Maine: $76,442 Nebraska: $76,376 Wyoming: $75,532 Kansas: $75,514 Iowa: $75,501 Montana: $75,340 North Carolina: $73,958 Michigan: $72,389 South Carolina: $72,350 Ohio: $72,212 Tennessee: $71,997 Indiana: $71,959 Missouri: $71,589 New Mexico: $67,816 Alabama: $66,659 Oklahoma: $66,148 Kentucky: $64,526 Arkansas: $62,106 Louisiana: $60,986 West Virginia: $60,798 Mississippi: $59,127
Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

The 10 richest states by median household income

  1. Massachusetts: $104,828
  2. New Jersey: $104,294
  3. Maryland: $102,905
  4. Hawaii: $100,745
  5. California: $100,149
  6. New Hampshire: $99,782
  7. Washington: $99,389
  8. Colorado: $97,113
  9. Utah: $96,658
  10. Connecticut: $96,049

The 10 poorest states by median household income

  1. Mississippi: $59,127
  2. West Virginia: $60,798
  3. Louisiana: $60,986
  4. Arkansas: $62,106
  5. Kentucky: $64,526
  6. Oklahoma: $66,148
  7. Alabama: $66,659
  8. New Mexico: $67,816
  9. Missouri: $71,589
  10. Indiana: $71,959

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is $77,803: 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.

2 other states are statistically tied with Massachusetts at 90% confidence: New Jersey and Maryland. 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$57,567$106,478MassachusettsNew JerseyMarylandHawaiiCaliforniaNew HampshireWashingtonColoradoUtahConnecticut

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

How much does the price adjustment change the order?

These states’ ranks change the most between median household income and price-adjusted median household income. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

StateMedian household incomePrice-adjusted median household income
New York$85,820 · #15$79,521 · #32
Florida$77,735 · #26$75,169 · #43
Iowa$75,501 · #34$86,029 · #17

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

Values over time

Annual ACS 1-year estimates, 2021–2024. Each year is a separate published survey release; 2020 is excluded because the Census Bureau did not release standard 1-year estimates for that year. Dollar figures are in each year’s dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Ranks are recalculated among the same 50 states for each year.

The state-by-state view

Download table

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

Median household income · 2024 · U.S. dollars
RankState / jurisdictionValue90% margin of errorDifference from previous rank
1Massachusetts$104,828± $1,650Highest estimate
2New Jersey$104,294± $997Not distinguishable at 90%
3Maryland$102,905± $1,404Not distinguishable at 90%
4Hawaii$100,745± $1,760Not distinguishable at 90%
5California$100,149± $381Not distinguishable at 90%
6New Hampshire$99,782± $2,489Not distinguishable at 90%
7Washington$99,389± $1,322Not distinguishable at 90%
8Colorado$97,113± $1,081Different at 90%
9Utah$96,658± $1,179Not distinguishable at 90%
10Connecticut$96,049± $1,824Not distinguishable at 90%
11Alaska$95,665± $3,278Not distinguishable at 90%
12Virginia$92,090± $831Different at 90%
13Delaware$87,534± $2,747Different at 90%
14Minnesota$87,117± $961Not distinguishable at 90%
15New York$85,820± $653Different at 90%
16Oregon$85,220± $1,399Not distinguishable at 90%
17Rhode Island$83,504± $3,548Not distinguishable at 90%
18Illinois$83,211± $898Not distinguishable at 90%
19Vermont$82,730± $1,846Not distinguishable at 90%
20Arizona$81,486± $684Not distinguishable at 90%
21Idaho$81,166± $1,340Not distinguishable at 90%
22Nevada$81,134± $1,112Not distinguishable at 90%
23Georgia$79,991± $633Not distinguishable at 90%
24Texas$79,721± $564Not distinguishable at 90%
25North Dakota$77,871± $2,755Not distinguishable at 90%
26Florida$77,735± $564Not distinguishable at 90%
27Pennsylvania$77,545± $816Not distinguishable at 90%
28Wisconsin$77,488± $902Not distinguishable at 90%
29South Dakota$76,881± $1,990Not distinguishable at 90%
30Maine$76,442± $1,354Not distinguishable at 90%
31Nebraska$76,376± $1,384Not distinguishable at 90%
32Wyoming$75,532± $2,468Not distinguishable at 90%
33Kansas$75,514± $996Not distinguishable at 90%
34Iowa$75,501± $1,016Not distinguishable at 90%
35Montana$75,340± $1,635Not distinguishable at 90%
36North Carolina$73,958± $863Not distinguishable at 90%
37Michigan$72,389± $567Different at 90%
38South Carolina$72,350± $959Not distinguishable at 90%
39Ohio$72,212± $538Not distinguishable at 90%
40Tennessee$71,997± $638Not distinguishable at 90%
41Indiana$71,959± $630Not distinguishable at 90%
42Missouri$71,589± $703Not distinguishable at 90%
43New Mexico$67,816± $1,867Different at 90%
44Alabama$66,659± $780Not distinguishable at 90%
45Oklahoma$66,148± $663Not distinguishable at 90%
46Kentucky$64,526± $1,165Different at 90%
47Arkansas$62,106± $831Different at 90%
48Louisiana$60,986± $803Not distinguishable at 90%
49West Virginia$60,798± $1,120Not distinguishable at 90%
50Mississippi$59,127± $1,560Not distinguishable at 90%
Ref.District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states$109,707± $4,149Reference jurisdiction
Ref.Puerto RicoNot ranked among states$27,213± $751Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 2 reference rows.

Common questions

What is the richest state in the U.S.?

By median household income, Massachusetts, at $104,828 in 2024. Its lead over the next states may not be statistically significant; the findings below list any state tied with it at 90% confidence.

What is the poorest state in the U.S.?

By median household income, the poorest state is Mississippi, at $59,127 in 2024.

Are these incomes adjusted for the cost of living?

No. These are dollar incomes. The price-adjusted household income ranking divides each median by the state’s price level, and the cost of living ranking shows the price levels themselves.

What this ranking measures

The midpoint of household income over the past 12 months, expressed in 2024 dollars. Half of households have more income and half have less.

Household income is not individual pay or wealth. It is not adjusted for differences in prices between states.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is $45,701. The U.S. benchmark is $81,604. It is not a simple average of the states.

19 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 31 below it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error published by the Census Bureau. 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
Product / file
ACS 1-year · GCT1901
Period
2024
Unit
U.S. dollars
Calculation
Published estimate; no transformation of the value. 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. 2025 ACS 1-year estimates scheduled for October 29, 2026 (Census ACS updates page); adoption follows editorial review.
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

Price-adjusted median household income

2024 · Census + BEA

$99,122 Massachusetts · highest estimate 02

Median family income

2024 · Census ACS

$131,831 Massachusetts · highest estimate 03

Cost of living by state

2024 · BEA RPP

110.7 California · highest estimate

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