The best (and worst) states to make a living

Moneyrate.com has an annual survey where they calculate the after taxes, cost of living adjusted income for all of the 50 states to figure out which offer the best and worst prospects for making a living.  It produces some striking findings.  Here's the article.

Perusing the list (see below) leads to some rather interesting discoveries:  First, Virginia  leads the nation in real disposable income - no surprise given its proximity to the richest city in America, but Maryland, which is even more of a creature of the Feds is 23rd, some $7000 below.  Perhaps the VA 'burbs are tonier?

And the dichotomy between the two Megastates:  Texas at no. 3 and California at no. 44 is truly shocking.  California is hanging out at the bottom with all of the other cracker states like Mississippi, West Virginia, Vermont? Rhode Island? Hawaii? while the Lone Star state is eating brie and sipping Chardonnay (from California, natch) with the likes of Washington and......Utah?  Well maybe non-alcoholic wine will have to do.

It's also interesting to note that a lot of 'flyover' states inhabited by us yokels like Oklahoma and Tennessee have higher standards of living than the denizens of New York or New Jersey or even Connecticut (I guess Christmas in Connecticut ain't what it used to be).

But probably the biggest shocker is Illinois - bankrupt, horribly governed, it still is one of the best earning states in the nation.  Which goes to show that there's a lot of ruin in a city.  I mean Chicago, because south of the Windy city Illinois is increasingly a smoking, pot holed ruin.

Ignoring Virginia as an outlier or as I would put it: an out-looter, the top ten seem to coalesce into two groups:  Old, stagnant industrial states like MA, IL, MI and booming growth states like WA, TX, CO, UT.  The former are exporting lots of people to the latter.  For example, in 1970, TX and IL both had 11 million people and Illinois was much richer.  Today they are tied in incomes and TX has 27 million to IL's 12 million.  And what's even more shocking is that a huge proportion of TX workers are recent immigrants from less developed countries.  TX and IL are tied, but TX has done a much better job of providing opportunities to many more new and non-white people than much more 'compassionate', 'socially responsible' states have.  Oh, and Texas is also much younger, which if adjusted for, would make its achievement even more striking.

And California, what can we say about poor, celebrity and tech billionaire cursed CA?  Despite having a similar scale and demographics to TX as well as incredible natural advantages, it has done horribly for its people.  This has some rather sobering implications on a national basis because CA is the most representative 'leader' state for the Progressive political persuasion.  Ostensibly from a policy perspective, huge, diverse, immigrant rich California is where the Democrats want to take the nation, their New Jerusalem.  By contrast, equally huge, diverse, immigrant rich TX is the most representative 'leader' state for the Conservative-Libertarian persuasion.  Theoretically, it's where the Republicans want to take us.

The defensive liberal will say:  hey! wait a minute, why can't the progressive future be Washington State?  Sorry, like Utah, Washington state's demographics are utterly unrepresentative of the nation.  The US' future is the CA, TX and FL present.  Therefore to see alternative policy visions of that future, you should look at those states.

So, which bus would you rather get on?  The Houston Rocket?  Or the Tijuana Trolley?

Cost Adjusted Wages by State

1. Virginia $43,677

2. Washington $43,662

3. Texas $42,816

4. Illinois $41,865

5. Colorado $40,490

6. Michigan $40,421

7. Wyoming $39,745

8. Utah $39,250

9. Delaware $38,802

10. Massachusetts $38,793

11. Tennessee $38,700

12. Minnesota $38,571

13. Ohio $38,364

14. Georgia $37,930

15. Pennsylvania $37,858

16. Indiana $37,181

17. Florida $37,145

18. Nevada $37,078

19. Kansas $37,008

20. Missouri $36,919

21. Nebraska $36,882

22. Wisconsin $36,588

23. Maryland $36,416

24. Arizona $36,314

25. Oklahoma $36,251

26. Alabama $36,205

27. New Mexico $35,813

28. Louisiana $35,727

29. North Dakota $35,642

30. Kentucky $35,520

31. Idaho $35,192

32. New Hampshire $35,173

33. North Carolina $35,064

34. Alaska $34,914

35. Iowa $34,845

36. New York $34,074

37. Connecticut $34,017

38. Oregon $33,788

39. Arkansas $33,763

40. New Jersey $33,623

41. South Dakota $33,121

42. South Carolina $32,645

43. West Virginia $32,297

44. California $31,459

45. Rhode Island $31,353

46. Montana $31,256

47. Mississippi $31,178

48. Vermont $30,433

49. Maine $29,703

50. Hawaii $22,394