Visualizing Household Income Distribution in the U.S. by State

Each state in the U.S. is unique, with different economic prospects and opportunities available to its residents.

For example, in a state such as New York, there is a surplus of high-paying jobs available in tech and finance sectors. Meanwhile, in places like North Dakota and Alaska, there is an incredible endowment of natural resources that help create opportunity for the people living there.

Household Income by State

Today’s visualization from Reddit shows how different each state is based on annual household income distribution data.

It’s worth noting that the below data does not take into account cost of living, which can have a big impact on how far that household income goes.

The above graphic, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, shows the household income distribution for each state.

The income for each state is broken down into six brackets (<$25k, $25k-$50k, etc), and data is sorted by the respective percentages of each state in the >$150k bracket.

Unlikely Leaders

Interestingly, the state with the highest percentage in the top bracket (>$150k) is New Jersey with 21.3% of households. The health and life sciences sectors are booming in the state – and 14 of 20 of the largest biopharmaceutical companies have operations in New Jersey. Meanwhile, important counties in the state also have proximity to big cities like New York City and Philadelphia, allowing people in the Garden State to easily commute to high-paying jobs in these metro centers.

Another leader that some may consider to be a surprise?

It’s the state of Alaska, which has the highest proportion of households (69.5%) earning >$50k per year in the entire country. The state is known for being rich in oil and gas, and part of the income for each household comes from the annual dividends of the Alaska Permanent Fund, which is worth $55 billion today.