Is the West Coast poorer or richer than America on average? (2014, rent)

[NowInWI]

List of U.S. states by poverty rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

According to the US Census Bureau, here are states, ranked in order of poverty levels...from lowest to highest.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by NowInWI

List of U.S. states by poverty rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

According to the US Census Bureau, here are states, ranked in order of poverty levels...from lowest to highest.

I take more stock in the supplemental and child poverty measures in terms of being measures of "true" poverty than in the basic income measurements.

BTW I'm surprised that "richer" is winning out. The West Coast is probably just as poor as Appalachia when you consider the high cost of living relative to earnings.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Overall, the West is about average. It's not notably richer than average, like the Northeast, or poorer than average, like the South.

The West has a higher COL than the South though. When you factor that in, it's similar if not poorer. Southerners tend to have bigger houses and yards too.

[George Frankly]

There are reasons people like living in different parts of the country, including all over the West. I think you should move to the Midwest, or the South. You will probably be able to afford a bigger house and yard.

(P.S. I am most likely moving to WI for a job opportunity. But not without some regret.)

[Lets Eat Candy]

Well, here you go:

American FactFinder - Results

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, 2013
Northeast Region: $59,247
(Pacific Divsion: $59,238)
West Region: $56,396
United States Average: $52,250
Midwest Region: $51,205
South Region: $48,767

Your welcome.

[Kobe25]

My main man joey in his emotional anti West feelings again lol,California alone crushes the Northeast tbh .California is more populated than the whole country of Canada & has the 7th highest economy in the world, Leave that inferior complex elsewhere.The West & South are the Super power regions & the only regions that each have 3 cities in the top 10 most populated u.s cities .I give the Northeast the most historic region because of the history & where the Capitol is located.Plus some of the oldest cities in the America are in the NE.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by Lets Eat Candy

Well, here you go:

American FactFinder - Results

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, 2013
Northeast Region: $59,247
(Pacific Divsion: $59,238)
West Region: $56,396
United States Average: $52,250
Midwest Region: $51,205
South Region: $48,767

Your welcome.

You have to consider that housing costs 2x-3x as much to purchase and about 1.5x as much to rent out West, though, and other things also tend to cost more.

[joeyg2014]

Originally Posted by Kobe25

My main man joey in his emotional anti West feelings again lol,California alone crushes the Northeast tbh .California is more populated than the whole country of Canada & has the 7th highest economy in the world, Leave that inferior complex elsewhere.The West & South are the Super power regions & the only regions that each have 3 cities in the top 10 most populated u.s cities .I give the Northeast the most historic region because of the history & where the Capitol is located.Plus some of the oldest cities in the America are in the NE.

I'm not anti west for letting you know the facts. The northeast megalopolis is 2% of the nation's land area and has a higher GDP than California. The only reason CA's economy is large is because Calfornia's land mass is large. California's GDP isn't special here.

4 of the top 10 largest metros are in the northeast. Nobody cares how many people Phoenix has when it's land area is 4 times that of Philly. This is why we base how "large" cities actually are off of their MSA population. The City of Boston is only 48 square miles.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

You have to consider that housing costs 2x-3x as much to purchase and about 1.5x as much to rent out West, though, and other things also tend to cost more.

Things aren't cheap in the Northeast though dude.

Here's a list from 2013 which takes into account the wages and cost of living, in an attempt to rank the best and worst states to live in economically. Washington comes in number one, because it has high wages and a relatively low COL. Most western states rank in the top half. Northeastern and southern states tend to rank near the bottom, for opposite reasons (high COL and low wages respectively).

[joeyg2014]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Things aren't cheap in the Northeast though dude.

Here's a list from 2013 which takes into account the wages and cost of living, in an attempt to rank the best and worst states to live in economically. Washington comes in number one, because it has high wages and a relatively low COL. Most western states rank in the top half. Northeastern and southern states tend to rank near the bottom, for opposite reasons (high COL and low wages respectively).

You get a better idea of the COL basing it off regions within each state rather than entire states if you're trying to determine where you can get a better deal.

I live in southern NH which benefits from high Boston salaries and a lower COL. Average income in my part of NH is over 70k and houses are 235k. That is a better income to value ratio than the Seattle area plus NH doesn't have a sales or income tax. WA doesn't have income tax but they have a 6.5% sales tax and a local sales tax that can total almost 10%. Gas is 20-30 cents cheaper in NH as well.