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5 States Where Income Levels Are Increasing — How Does Yours Compare?

October 12, 2023

3 min Read

Written by David Nadelle

Edited by Daria Uhlig

A stressed woman sits on the floor with her laptop and bills, anxiously managing her personal finances.

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Despite inflation cooling considerably over the last year, many Americans are still struggling with high consumer prices and soaring utility bills. A recent CBS poll found that over half of Americans are either just meeting, or cannot meet, their expenses.

More critically, a CBS analysis of Census data showed that incomes fell in 17 states last year. Just five states had increased incomes, and 29 states saw income changes that were statistically insignificant, according to CBS MoneyWatch.

While a strong U.S. economy and a robust labor market have propelled investor optimism, the end of stimulus checks and high inflation, plus lower earnings and higher prices, have weakened consumer sentiment. After a steady rise beginning in July 2022, sentiment has seen equally steady declines over the last few months, according to data from Morning Consult.

“Consumer sentiment still remains pretty low, close to where it was in lockdowns at the onset of the pandemic,” Jesse Wheeler, senior economist at Morning Consult, told CBS. “It’s safe to say the U.S. economy is in better shape than it was then, so it begs the question: Why are Americans feeling so down about the economy?”

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Where Americans Are Earning More

U.S. median household income dipped 2.3% last year, to $74,580, but the following five states enjoyed increases in median average household income in 2022:

1. Delaware

Median household income in 2022: $82,174
Percent change from 2021: 6.9%

2. Alaska

Median household income in 2022: $88,121
Percent change from 2021: 4.7%

3. Utah

Median household income in 2022: $89,168
Percent change from 2021: 3.8%

4. Alabama

Median household income in 2022: $59,674
Percent change from 2021: 2.4%

5. Florida

Median household income in 2022: $69,303
Percent change from 2021: 1.7%

Where Americans Are Earning Less

The states that lost the most income can be found primarily in the Midwest and Northwest regions of the country, and that is where consumer sentiment has waned as well.

“Generally speaking, the decline in consumer confidence from 2021 to 2022 was particularly strong in the Midwest,” Wheeler said, also noting that states with increased median incomes experienced relatively small declines in consumer confidence.

Here are the 17 states that experienced the biggest drops in median household income in 2022. The remaining 29 states (including the District of Columbia) had unremarkable changes.

1. New Hampshire