Ranked: Richest to Poorest States in United States in 2026

• By Fineducke Team

• 178

• Last updated Jan 19, 2026

Based on the most recent data, Massachusetts is the richest state in USA. It has a median household income of $104,828. On the other hand, Mississipi is ranked as the poorest state with a median household income of $59,127. 

From this data as you will see below, it can be deduced that, in a year, Mississipi earns nearly $46,000 more per year compared to the poorest household.

It should be noted that the rankings on this page were based on median household income and not total wealth or net worth of the individuals in USA states. 

We used median income as it is noted to be one of the most practical and effective ways of comparing earning power among the people as it shows what a typical household earns. 

If you would like to see the formula for calculating median household income, check here. 

Median Household Income (MHI):

MHI = \begin{cases} x_{(n+1)/2}, & \text{if } n \text{ is odd} \\ \frac{x_{n/2} + x_{(n/2)+1}}{2}, & \text{if } n \text{ is even} \end{cases}

Where:

• x= household incomes ordered from lowest to highest
• n= total number of households

The data used in this ranking comes from the US Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey. This is the latest nationwide income dataset available. 

Related article: Top 10 Richest People in the USA in 2026

Looking across the list, high-ranking states tend to cluster around strong job markets, higher education levels, and industries like technology, finance, and government employment. 

On the other hand, lower-ranking states face lower average wages, fewer high-paying industries, and slower economic growth despite the fact that some of these states are seeing faster year-over-year income increases.

Below is the full ranking of all 50 US states, from richest to poorest based on median household income. write for me the formular for calculating median household income