Poorest state is Mississippi, figures show
A church and homes are seen in the Mississippi River floodwaters on May 23, 2011 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Heavy rains left the ground saturated, rivers swollen, and caused widespread flooding in Louisiana. Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
New data from the US Census Bureau shows that the median household income in the US declined in 2011, the Daily Finance reported. In all, the poorest state in the US is Mississippi, with a median income just above $36,919. The state also has the highest percentage of residents below the poverty line, at 22.6 percent. Trailing behind Mississippi is West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama.
Meanwhile, the richest state is Maryland, followed by Alaska, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Oddly, most of those states struggling from low incomes do not have the country's worst unemployment rates. But it's no surprise to experts that the two factors aren't related. The real problem is that "earnings for middle and lower-wage workers have fallen or stagnated over time," Brookings Institution fellow Elizabeth Kneebone explained to 24/7 Wall St.
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While most of the richest states are on the East Coast, many of the richest individual cities can be found in California, including the city taking the number one spot. The richest city isn't an obvious choice like Los Angeles or San Francisco. According to the Huffington Post, the city with the highest median income in the nation is actually San Jose, California. It's followed by SF, DC, Seattle and San Diego.
But despite having three of the nation's richest cities, California failed to make the richest state list. 24/7 Wall St. explains that California struggles with major inequality between the rich and poor.