The 15 States Where Workers Earn the Most Money

Where you live definitely affects how much you can potentially make.

By Sam Hindman |
Not every state has a high median income.
Not every state has a high median income. / Rapeepong Puttakumwong/Moment/Getty Images

The industry you’ve made a career in certainly helps determine the size of your paycheck. But where you live also affects your potential earnings. With consumer price inflation rising a whopping 21 percent since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, you might want to get a feel of how your state is faring. 

WalletHub looked at all 50 states (and Washington, D.C.) to see which areas bring the best income. Their study measured income for different groups of people and adjusted for the cost of living. WalletHub judged each state based on the below criteria:

  • Average income of the top 5 percent of earners, adjusted for cost of living (this category counted twice as much as the others).
  • Median household income, adjusted for cost of living.
  • Average income of the bottom 20 percent of earners, adjusted for cost of living.

This isn’t a premonition of how much opportunity individuals might find in a particular state, but rather a bird’s eye overview of how their economies are faring. See whether your state made the cut below.

The 15 States With the Highest Incomes

  1. Virginia
  2. New Jersey
  3. New York
  4. Connecticut
  5. Washington
  6. Utah
  7. Illinois
  8. Minnesota
  9. Colorado
  10. Massachusetts
  11. California
  12. Texas
  13. Georgia
  14. Maryland
  15. District of Columbia

Virginia, the top state, ranked third-highest in the nation for the top 5 percent ($518,296) and bottom 20 percent of earners ($18,694). Its median income was $89,393, showing a wide wealth distribution.

New Jersey, which placed second, had the fourth-highest earnings nationally across its top percent at $505,621. While its median income of $117,847 is also fairly high, its bottom 20 percent of earners ($16,445) are only the 21st highest in the country. Unsurprisingly, New York’s top 5 percent make the most in the nation with an average of $553,436. Its bottom 20 percent, though, have some of the worst earnings in the country at just $13,301. 

The top 5 percent of earners in Washington, D.C.—which rounds out the final spot in the top 15—bring in an average of $450,892, while those in the lowest bracket receive just $9011.

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