What is the typical household income in each state?

Bars are sorted from highest to lowest and start at zero; each one's value is at its end. The dashed line is “United States”, for comparison. On a phone it opens on the top and bottom 10; tap “Show all” for the rest. These are survey estimates: the thin lines and the ± figures show each one's margin of error, and the true value is likely (90% confidence) within that range. Where ranges overlap, the difference may not be real.

Key facts

Measure: Median household income, dollars a year. Written from the data below.

• District of Columbia has the highest figure, $109,870, followed by Massachusetts ($103,960) and Maryland ($103,678).
• Mississippi has the lowest figure, $56,447, followed by West Virginia ($59,608) and Louisiana ($60,756).
• The highest is 1.9 times the lowest.
• United States: $80,734. Of the 51 compared, 20 are above it and 31 below.

How to read this chart

Each bar is the median household income in a state: half of households earn more and half earn less. The dashed line is the whole U.S., for comparison. These are survey estimates, and each has a margin of error: the true value is likely within that range, so states with overlapping ranges may not really differ.

Questions to discuss

1. Find your state. Is it above or below the U.S. median, and by about how much?
2. Why do statisticians often use the median instead of the average (mean) for income?
3. Housing and groceries cost more in some states. What would you need to know to compare what these incomes can buy?

Source and date

Source

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates

License

Public domain (U.S. government work). This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Data as of

December 31, 2024

Published

September 25, 2026