Income in Each State, Adjusted for Cost of Living
Even if people tend to make more in one state than another, it might not compensate for a higher cost of living. A dollar might not buy you as much. Or it might buy you more.
As we saw with minimum wage, the Bureau of Economic Analysis produces an estimate for this called Regional Price Parity. It estimates how much more or less things cost compared to the national average.
The chart below uses RPP to show income distributions for each state, unadjusted and adjusted. For example, New York has a relatively high median income, but when you adjust for cost of living, its rank goes down significantly. In contrast, South Dakota ranks in the middle for income, but then rises with adjustment.
Notes
The income data is based on estimates from the 2020 Current Population Survey. I downloaded the data via IPUMS. Regional Price Parity comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. I used 2019 estimates for the adjustments.
I processed and analyzed the data in R, and I made the chart above with D3.
Become a member. Support an independent site. Make great charts.
See What You GetMy work on FlowingData is supported by paid memberships. Since 2007, I have been analyzing data and making charts to help people understand and appreciate data in their work and everyday lives. I hope to keep it going for many more years.
If you liked this (or want to learn how to make similar data things), please consider supporting this small corner of the internet with a membership. You get unlimited access to visualization courses, tutorials, and extra resources. Thanks. — Nathan
Chart Type Used
