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Michigan is working hard to join that list. With our legendary economic troubles it wont be long and we will take Mississippis spot on that list.
Michigan isn't even in the bottom half of most "poorest" state lists regardless of how you hash it. It's actually a fairly decent state looking at poverty rates, income levels, etc.
The economic issues in Detroit and Flint aren't really a clear picture of the 10,000,000 people in the state.
I suppose there are a lot of ways to look at this. You could do income, you could do poverty levels, state GDP. In the end though the cost of living really comes into play a lot. Someone making $80,000 in San Fran or Conn. isn't going to be able to buy twice as much as someone who makes $40,000 in Nebraska. Someone below the poverty levels in New York is going to have a harder time making ends meet than someone below that same income level in Texas. Things cost more in different places. Income normally follows that trend.
There was an analysis on here of the "richest" metro when looking at average income levels adjusted for housing costs/costs of living in that metro. The #1 richest metro in the country ended up being Des Moines, Iowa. Probably the last place anyone would have thought to mention.
The avearge salary in Des Moines for a household is $57,000 a year. In Los Angeles it's $59,000 and NYC is $63,000. Des Moines' average cost of living is 10% below the national average though, while LA's is 40% greater, and NYC's is over 70% greater.
Put everything on par and a family in Des Moines has an average income of $62,500, about $1,000 above Washington DC. LA's would hash out to $41,000 and NYC's $35,000. My family from the Des Moines area gets away with quite a bit. Multiple trips to Europe a year, a nice 5 bedroom house with multiple cars, hot tub and all the latest gadgets. It's just that most people want something with different weather and a lot bigger city (it's only around 550,000 people).
I couldn't live there cause I need a big city, but my friends there have a world's better of a standard of living than my college friends in NYC who make probably $30K a year more than my friends in Des Moines.
Last edited by Chicago60614; 07-26-2011 at 11:46 AM..
The "poorest states" don't rank low on health care, education, mobility, etc. because they are poor. They are poor because they rank low on health care, education, mobility, etc. BIG difference. Also, while it is true that the "deep South" states of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Louisiana largely rank poor because of their large black populations, the same cannot be said for Kentucky and West Virginia, which have very small black populations but horrific povertry among whites in Appalachia. In both Texas and New Mexico, I belive it is safe to assume the large hispanic / Native American populations, respectively, trend the poverty numbers higher. Interestingly, when you remove minority populations from these states the income levels of middle / upper class whites are on par with the rest of the country.
But its just not the blacks who are poor in those states, its the whites as well. Another sad thing about these states is the fact that they almost always vote against their own interests.
I suppose there are a lot of ways to look at this. You could do income, you could do poverty levels, state GDP. In the end though the cost of living really comes into play a lot. Someone making $80,000 in San Fran or Conn. isn't going to be able to buy twice as much as someone who makes $40,000 in Nebraska. Someone below the poverty levels in New York is going to have a harder time making ends meet than someone below that same income level in Texas. Things cost more in different places. Income normally follows that trend.
There was an analysis on here of the "richest" metro when looking at average income levels adjusted for housing costs/costs of living in that metro. The #1 richest metro in the country ended up being Des Moines, Iowa. Probably the last place anyone would have thought to mention.
The avearge salary in Des Moines for a household is $57,000 a year. In Los Angeles it's $59,000 and NYC is $63,000. Des Moines' average cost of living is 10% below the national average though, while LA's is 40% greater, and NYC's is over 70% greater.
Put everything on par and a family in Des Moines has an average income of $62,500, about $1,000 above Washington DC. LA's would hash out to $41,000 and NYC's $35,000. My family from the Des Moines area gets away with quite a bit. Multiple trips to Europe a year, a nice 5 bedroom house with multiple cars, hot tub and all the latest gadgets. It's just that most people want something with different weather and a lot bigger city (it's only around 550,000 people).
I couldn't live there cause I need a big city, but my friends there have a world's better of a standard of living than my college friends in NYC who make probably $30K a year more than my friends in Des Moines.
That was an awesome post. I totally agree.
One thing I would add is that a state with a higher level of people living in poverty does not necessarily mean that the state as a whole is more poor (or vice versa).
For example 20% of NM's population may live in poverty, but how does the other 80% live??? 80% is a more than a supermajority of the population and could be living better than the population of people living above the poverty level in NJ.
maybe it would be better to do a cost of living analysis and see what percentage of the population lives above and below that figure for each state. You may find that that gulf between Mississippi and Alaska may be narrowed.
The "poorest states" don't rank low on health care, education, mobility, etc. because they are poor. They are poor because they rank low on health care, education, mobility, etc. BIG difference. Also, while it is true that the "deep South" states of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Louisiana largely rank poor because of their large black populations, the same cannot be said for Kentucky and West Virginia, which have very small black populations but horrific povertry among whites in Appalachia. In both Texas and New Mexico, I belive it is safe to assume the large hispanic / Native American populations, respectively, trend the poverty numbers higher. Interestingly, when you remove minority populations from these states the income levels of middle / upper class whites are on par with the rest of the country.
I think it has more to do with the policies of the local and state level governments of the "poor states." Then the cross section of inhabitants.
Hands off, laissez faire types of government....clearly has created this type of living condition.
One instance is Massachusetts versus Mississippi education. Passing by MS standards, is outright failing in MA. Mass kids have the highest science and math grades in the nation. Btw, 1 in 9 Bay Staters is foreign born.
Remember people that these Southern states are only "developed world poor". They are kind of the the "eastern Europe" of the United States. Its not Haiti. People are not living in shacks.
These poor, red states aren't going to be leading this nation far into the 21st century.
41. California
42. Arkansas
43. Hawaii
44. Tennessee
45. Alabama
46. Nevada
47. Oklahoma
48. Louisiana
49. New Mexico
50. West Virginia
51. Mississippi
Care to explain California, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico?
41. California
42. Arkansas
43. Hawaii
44. Tennessee
45. Alabama
46. Nevada
47. Oklahoma
48. Louisiana
49. New Mexico
50. West Virginia
51. Mississippi
Care to explain California, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico?
Frankly, other than California...yeah, I still stand by my comment.
I mean, gambling and under-prices, foreclosed desert homes near Area 51 aren't going to solve any crises.
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