canada goose Here's the average income in every state — and what it's really worth Kaitlin Mulhere, MONEY Mar. 5, 2018, 5:16 PM Salaries have different values across the U.S. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters The worth of your annual income can be determined by measuring it against the “regional price parity.”The higher the price parity figure for a given state, the more locals will pay for living expenses and housing.In New York, for example, the median household income is $60,850, but only amounts to $52,775 in terms of worth. Geography can transform a paycheck. That is: How much your wages are actually worth depends largely on where you live. On some level, everyone understands that — even if you don’t have a firm grasp on precisely how far a $50,000 salary would go in California, compared with, say, Ohio. MONEY set out to find the answer, meshing average income data with a cost of living measurement for each state. We pulled average pay for each state, based on 2015 median household income from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Then we adjusted those figures based on each state’s 2015 “regional price parity” — a calculation by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis that shows how much a certain amount of cash will buy you in a given place. The higher the price parity number for a given state, the more residents will pay for items such as housing, food, and transportation. The BEA calculates this by looking at the price of goods and services in the Consumer Price Index, as well as rents reported to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. A price parity figure of 118.8, like Hawaii’s, means that goods and services there cost almost 19% more than the national average. Prices in Mississippi, meanwhile, with a price parity of 86.2, are about 14% less than the national average. Living expenses tend to cluster by region. The Northeast is comparatively more expensive than much of the Southeast, for example. But there are considerable differences even among states that are neighbors. In Illinois, for example, the real value of $1,000 is $1,003. In next-door Indiana and Missouri, that rises to $1,103 and $1,120, respectively, since those are lower-cost states. In some states, such as Delaware, there’s little difference between the median household income and how much it can purchase locally. Delaware has a price parity (100.4) that’s nearly in line with the national average (which gets indexed to 100). But in other areas, such as North Dakota or Massachusetts, the price parity calculation can either add or subtract thousands from an average earner’s spending power. A few notes: Household income doesn’t count non-cash benefits and doesn’t account for property or personal income taxes, other deductions, or Social Security — so it’s not the same as take-home pay. The cost of living and average income can also vary considerably within a state, so your state’s real salary may not reflect what workers in a specific city earn or pay to live. Here are the median household incomes, regional price comparisons, and real salary values in each U.S. state. 1/ Alabama Montgomery, Alabama. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $44,765 Regional price parity out of 100: 86.8 Real income: $51,573 2/ Alaska Mendenhall Glacier viewpoint, Alaska. Mike Redwine/Shutterstock Median household income: $73,355 Regional price parity out of 100: 105.6 Real income: $69,465 3/ Arizona Hunts Mesa, Monument Valley, Arizona. Elena_Suvorova/Shutterstock Median household income: $51,492 Regional price parity out of 100: 96.2 Real income: $53,526 4/ Arkansas Mt. Magazine state park Arkansas. Eric Urquhart/Shutterstock Median household income: $41,995 Regional price parity out of 100: 87.4 Real income: $48,049 5/ California Los Angeles, California. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $64,500 Regional price parity out of 100: 113.4 Real income: $56,878 6/ Colorado Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs. Sopotnicki/Shutterstock Median household income: $63,909 Regional price parity out of 100: 103.2 Real income: $61,927 7/ Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $71,346 Regional price parity out of 100: 108.7 Real income: $65,636 8/ Delaware Wilmington, Delaware. Jon Bilous/Shutterstock Median household income: $61,255 Regional price parity out of 100: 100.4 Real income: $61,011 9/ District of Columbia The Washington skyline. MH Anderson Photography/Shutterstock Median household income: $75,628 Regional price parity out of 100: 117 Real income: $64,639 10/ Florida Miami beach, Florida. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $49,426 Regional price parity out of 100: 99.5 Real income: $49,674 11/ Georgia Atlanta, Georgia. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $51,244 Regional price parity out of 100: 92.6 Real income: $55,339 12/ Hawaii Honolulu city, Oahu, Hawaii. MNStudio/Shutterstock Median household income: $73,486 Regional price parity out of 100: 118.8 Real income: $61,857 13/ Idaho View of Grand Teton mountain range from Idaho. Sharon Day/Shutterstock Median household income: $48,275 Regional price parity out of 100: 93.4 Real income: $51,686 14/ Illinois Eldon Hazlet state park, Illinois. Jason Patrick Ross/Shutterstock Median household income: $59,588 Regional price parity out of 100: 99.7 Real income: $59,767 15/ Indiana South Bend, Indiana. Chuck W Walker/Shutterstock Median household income: $50,532 Regional price parity out of 100: 90.7 Real income:$55,713 16/ Iowa A corn field in Iowa. Natalia Kuzmina/Shutterstock Median household income: $54,736 Regional price parity out of 100: 90.3 Real income: $60,616 17/ Kansas Wichita, Kansas. Jon Manjeot/Shutterstock Median household income: $53,906 Regional price parity out of 100: 90.4 Real income: $59,631 18/ Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky. f11photo/Shutterstock Median household income: $45,215 Regional price parity out of 100: 88.6 Real income: $51,033 19/ Louisiana Louisiana Bayou. Pierre Jean Durieu/Shutterstock Median household income: $45,727 Regional price parity out of 100: 90.6 Real income:$50,471 20/ Maine Portland, Maine. James Mattil/Shutterstock Median household income: $51,494 Regional price parity out of 100: 98 Real income: $52,545 21/ Maryland Annapolis, Maryland. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $75,847 Regional price parity out of 100: 109.6 Real income: $69,203 22/ Massachusetts Worcester, Massachusetts. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $70,628 Regional price parity out of 100: 106.9 Real income: $66,069 23/ Michigan Holland, Michigan. Craig Sterken/Shutterstock Median household income: $51,084 Regional price parity out of 100: 93.5 Real income: $54 baertakreation.de ,635 24/ Minnesota A barn near Zimmerman, Minnesota. melissamn/Shutterstock Median household income: $63,488 Regional price parity out of 100: 97.4 Real income: $65,183 25/ Mississippi Downtown Jackson, Mississippi. Rex Wholster/Shutterstock Median household income: $40,593 Regional price parity out of 100: 86.2 Real income: $47,092 26/ Missouri Theodore Roosevelt national park, North Dakota. ZakZeinert/Shutterstock Median household income: $50,238 Regional price parity out of 100: 89.3 Real income: $56,258 27/ Montana Livingston, Montana. Nick Fox/Shutterstock Median household income: $49,509 Regional price parity out of 100: 94.8 Real income: $52,225 28/ Nebraska Chimney Rock, Nebraska. Christopher Boswell/Shutterstock Median household income: $54,996 Regional price parity out of 100: 90.6 Real income: $60,702 29/ Nevada Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock Median household income: $52,431 Regional price parity out of 100: 98 Real income: $53,501 30/ New Hampshire Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, New Hampshire. Allan Wood Photography/Shutterstock Median household income: $70,303 Regional price parity out of 100: 105 Real income: $66,955 31/ New Jersey Ocean City, New Jersey. Gary C. Tognoni/Shutterstock Median household income: $72,222 Regional price parity out of 100: 113.4 Real income: $63,688 32/ New Mexico Abiquiu, New Mexico. a. v. ley/Shutterstock Median household income: $45,382 Regional price parity out of 100: 94.4 Real income: $48,074 33/ New York New York City. TTstudio/Shutterstock Median household income: $60,850 Regional price parity out of 100: 115.3 Real income: $52,775 34/ North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina. digidreamgrafix/Shutterstock Median household income: $47,830 Regional price parity out of 100: 91.2 Real income: $52,445 35/ North Dakota Fargo, North Dakota in winter. FiledIMAGE/Shutterstock Median household income: $60,5567 Regional price parity out of 100: 92.3 Real income: $65,609 36/ Ohio Dwntown Columbus Ohio Skyline at Sunset. f11photo/Shutterstock Median household income: $51,075 Regional price parity out of 100: 89.2 Real income: $57,259 37/ Oklahoma Bison buffalo grazing in the Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma. angie oxley/Shutterstock Median household income: $48,568 Regional price parity out of 100: 89.9 Real income: $54,024 38/ Oregon Sunset in downtown Portland, Oregon. Jess Kraft/Shutterstock Median household income: $54,148 Regional price parity out of 100: 99.2 Real income: $54,585 39/ Pennsylvania An alleyway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $55,702 Regional price parity out of 100: 97.9 Real income: $56,897 40/ Rhode Island The skyline of Providence, Rhode Island. Stephen B. Goodwin/Shutterstock Median household income: $58,073 Regional price parity out of 100: 98.7 Real income: $58,838 41/ South Carolina The French quarter in Charleston, South Carolina. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $47,238 Regional price parity out of 100: 90.3 Real income: $52,312 42/ South Dakota Mount Rushmore memorial park. Nagel Photography/Shutterstock Median household income: $53,017 Regional price parity out of 100: 88.2 Real income: $60 www.baertakreation.de ,110 43/ Tennessee Downtown Memphis. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $47,275 Regional price parity out of 100: 89.9 Real income: $52,586 44/ Texas San Antonio, Texas. f11photo/Shutterstock Median household income: $55,653 Regional price parity out of 100: 96.8 Real income: $57,493 45/ Utah The slopes of Park City, Utah. Johnny Adolphson/Shutterstock Median household income: $62,912 Regional price parity out of 100: 97 Real income: $64,858 46/ Vermont Montpelier, Vermont. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $56,990 Regional price parity out of 100: 101.6 Real income: $56,093 47/ Virginia An autumn sunset in the hills of Virginia. Andriy Blokhin/Shutterstock Median household income: $66,262 Regional price parity out of 100: 102.5 Real income: $64,646 48/ Washington Diablo Lake, Washington. Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock Median household income: $64,129 Regional price parity out of 100: 104.8 Real income: $61,192 49/ West Virginia Charleston, West Virginia at twilight. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Median household income: $42,019 Regional price parity out of 100: 88.9 Real income: $47,265 50/ Wisconsin The State Capital building in Madison, Wisconsin. Wsharper69/Shutterstock Median household income: $55,638 Regional price parity out of 100: 93.1 Real income: $59,762 51/ Wyoming Grand Teton national park, Wyoming. SL-Photography/Shutterstock Median household income: $60,214 Regional price parity out of 100: 96.2 Real income: $62,593 Previous 1/ Next Read the original article on MONEY. Copyright 2018. Follow MONEY on Twitter. SEE ALSO: Actual couples share their top tips for managing their money canada goose parka