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Historic row houses in Baltimore, Maryland.
- The wealthiest states by median household income aren't just limited to the coasts, according to Census data.
- While several states on the west coast and in New England make the list, the place with the highest income isn't a state at all - it's Washington DC.
- Maryland and New Hampshire are the states with the lowest poverty rates, and both rank in the top five for income.
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The wealthiest states by income aren't just on the west coast and in New England, as you might assume.
Census income data on the median household income from 2017 shows a variety of areas where there's wealth to be had. The top 17 states include two Midwestern locales, Illinois and Minnesota. The list also includes many states in the west, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. However, the top-earning area isn't technically a state at all: it's Washington DC.
The median household income for the US as a whole is $61,372, putting all of the places on this list above the national average. In terms of poverty rate, though, states tend to be a little bit more sporadic. With the national three-year average poverty rate at 12.8%, some states on this list are higher than that, while one is at nearly half. It's worth noting the poverty rate in these states because it makes clear that these higher-than-average incomes aren't necessarily available to everyone.
While the west coast and New England certainly make the list, they're not the whole list. Here are the 17 states where median income is the highest, along with their three year average poverty rate, according to 2017 Census Bureau data.