Money Power Rankings › Real Paycheck

Real Paycheck Power Rankings Based on 65% of intended metrics

50 states + D.C. · accountable: Governor · updated 2026-06-18 · source: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) + U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (RPP)

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Composite score by state

strongweakno data

#	State	Score	Real median earnings (price-adjusted)	Cost-of-living level (RPP)	Wage growth (YoY)
1	District of Columbia	69.0	73,952	109.901	9.19%
2	North Dakota	59.0	51,780	88.959	7.61%
3	Alabama	50.4	45,225	88.823	8.71%
4	Arkansas	46.4	44,376	86.937	4.95%
5	Oklahoma	46.2	44,462	87.843	5.59%
6	Wisconsin	46.1	48,607	94.095	6.68%
7	Iowa	46.1	48,034	87.762	1.28%
8	Louisiana	45.7	44,774	88.207	5.17%
9	South Dakota	45.5	47,365	88.586	2.39%
10	Kentucky	44.7	44,691	90.159	6.45%
11	Vermont	43.8	47,381	97.958	10.12%
12	Nebraska	43.4	47,119	90.103	2.54%
13	Minnesota	43.2	50,982	98.621	6.09%
14	Missouri	41.4	45,816	90.817	3.33%
15	Kansas	40.2	45,683	90.068	1.86%
16	West Virginia	40.0	43,271	89.497	3.95%
17	Tennessee	39.3	45,233	91.87	3.4%
18	South Carolina	39.0	43,533	93.749	6.97%
19	Ohio	38.1	45,641	92.774	2.92%
20	Wyoming	37.6	44,674	92.691	3.64%
21	Mississippi	37.4	41,476	86.953	1.69%
22	Montana	37.3	42,705	94.645	7.57%
23	Virginia	36.2	49,833	101.104	4.58%
24	Indiana	35.2	44,819	93.329	2.27%
25	North Carolina	34.6	44,500	94.326	3.19%
26	Idaho	34.6	41,990	95.494	7.23%
27	Rhode Island	34.5	48,839	102.28	5.68%
28	Pennsylvania	34.1	46,195	97.572	3.92%
29	Illinois	33.8	47,035	99.958	5.03%
30	Massachusetts	33.5	51,962	105.757	4.62%
31	Colorado	33.3	49,816	103.052	4.35%
32	Maine	33.1	44,438	97.05	4.7%
33	Maryland	31.9	51,524	104.959	3.13%
34	New Hampshire	30.3	49,393	104.165	3.69%
35	Georgia	29.5	43,619	96.293	2.33%
36	Michigan	29.5	43,300	96.217	2.59%
37	Arizona	29.1	44,326	100.677	5.38%
38	Texas	28.8	43,613	97.057	2.55%
39	Connecticut	28.3	49,311	103.61	1.81%
40	Oregon	28.2	43,822	103.361	7.86%
41	New Mexico	26.8	39,801	92.212	0.88%
42	Utah	26.6	42,872	98.864	3.48%
43	Nevada	24.5	41,989	99.979	4.01%
44	Washington	23.5	49,090	107.013	1.73%
45	New York	23.3	46,397	107.921	5.61%
46	Alaska	21.1	45,913	102.359	-0.76%
47	Delaware	18.7	42,721	99.808	-1.26%
48	New Jersey	18.5	48,104	108.805	0.88%
49	Florida	16.8	40,090	103.414	3.86%
50	California	14.4	43,330	110.72	5.27%
51	Hawaii	10.8	42,242	109.951	3.11%

Dimensions awaiting a sourced feed (not estimated): State + local tax burden; Minimum wage vs living wage gap.

Every figure is measured, never opinion. Click any value for its source and how it’s scored. Composite = weighted, normalized sum of the dimensions — see methodology.