Income across the United States is in flux, with median household incomes creeping upward. According to 2024 data from the Census Bureau, the U.S. median household income was $83,730, only modestly up from about $82,690 in 2023 (a change the bureau found was not statistically significant). The climb continued the following year. The bureau's latest national figures, released in September 2026, put median household income at $87,460 in 2025, the highest on record dating back to 1967 and up 2.6% after adjusting for inflation.
Yet that national figure masks wide disparities. States like Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and California have median household incomes above $100,000, while in the lowest-income states, the typical household earns more than $20,000 less than the national median.
A household that appears well-off in one state may struggle in another due to living costs. In lower-income states, a lack of sectoral diversification (over-reliance on extractive industries, agriculture, or low-wage service sectors) can limit resilience to economic shocks.
In states like Mississippi, West Virginia, and Louisiana, incomes are between 25% and 28% below the U.S. median, and more than 12% of families live below the poverty line. Mississippi has the lowest median household income: just over $59,000 in 2024.
To see how these numbers vary nationwide, Stacker ranked the poorest states by median household income using statistics from the Census Bureau's 2024 1-Year American Community Survey. As of October 2026, these are the most recent state-level figures available; the Census Bureau has not yet set a release date for its 2025 1-year estimates. The survey puts the 2024 U.S. median household income at $81,604, the baseline for each comparison below. The review also includes statistics on household income brackets, median earnings, health insurance coverage, and poverty level.
Editor's note: The data point on median earnings is broken down to highlight the discrepancies between women and men. However, the Census collects data with a binary understanding of sex and gender, not considering other gender identities and potentially conflating sex and gender.
Chad Robertson Media // Shutterstock
1 / 25- Median household income: $77,735 (4.7% less than the U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 473,368 (5.2%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 1,089,305 (11.9%)
- Median earnings for workers: $42,321 (men: $60,201; women: $50,563)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 8.4%
- Households with health insurance: 89.1%
ESB Professional // Shutterstock
2 / 25- Median household income: $77,545 (5.0% less U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 270,326 (5.0%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 639,349 (11.9%)
- Median earnings for workers: $46,804 (men: $67,699; women: $55,760)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 7.8%
- Households with health insurance: 94.2%
Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock
3 / 25- Median household income: $77,488 (5.0% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 110,181 (4.3%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 239,382 (9.4%)
- Median earnings for workers: $47,337 (men: $65,829; women: $53,311)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 6.4%
- Households with health insurance: 94.7%
JohnDSmith // Shutterstock
4 / 25- Median household income: $76,881 (5.8% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 17,935 (4.7%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 33,376 (8.7%)
- Median earnings for workers: $45,579 (men: $61,219; women: $50,661)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 6.6%
- Households with health insurance: 91.9%
Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock
5 / 25- Median household income: $76,442 (6.3% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 24,519 (4.0%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 63,672 (10.3%)
- Median earnings for workers: $46,556 (men: $65,053; women: $56,341)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 6.2%
- Households with health insurance: 94.5%
Katherine Welles // Shutterstock
6 / 25- Median household income: $76,376 (6.4% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 35,439 (4.3%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 73,437 (8.9%)
- Median earnings for workers: $44,461 (men: $61,827; women: $51,375)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 7.4%
- Households with health insurance: 92.9%
saraporn // Shutterstock
7 / 25- Median household income: $75,532 (7.4% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 13,192 (5.1%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 21,551 (8.4%)
- Median earnings for workers: $42,185 (men: $62,469; women: $50,152)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 6.4%
- Households with health insurance: 89.7%
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
8 / 25- Median household income: $75,514 (7.5% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 52,214 (4.3%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 120,201 (10.0%)
- Median earnings for workers: $44,119 (men: $62,003; women: $51,041)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 6.9%
- Households with health insurance: 91.5%
QZ // Shutterstock
9 / 25- Median household income: $75,501 (7.5% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 54,185 (4.0%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 111,270 (8.3%)
- Median earnings for workers: $44,656 (men: $63,372; women: $51,145)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 7.4%
- Households with health insurance: 94.6%
Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock
10 / 25- Median household income: $75,340 (7.7% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 17,748 (3.8%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 43,546 (9.3%)
- Median earnings for workers: $41,741 (men: $61,245; women: $50,656)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 6.0%
- Households with health insurance: 91.2%
Konstantin L // Shutterstock
11 / 25- Median household income: $73,958 (9.4% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 233,418 (5.2%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 498,662 (11.1%)
- Median earnings for workers: $43,948 (men: $61,870; women: $51,711)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 8.8%
- Households with health insurance: 91.4%
Vladimir Mucibabic // Shutterstock
12 / 25- Median household income: $72,389 (11.3% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 233,459 (5.7%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 388,927 (9.4%)
- Median earnings for workers: $43,195 (men: $66,132; women: $52,393)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 9.2%
- Households with health insurance: 94.9%
Susanne Pommer // Shutterstock
13 / 25- Median household income: $72,350 (11.3% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 130,320 (5.9%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 210,740 (9.5%)
- Median earnings for workers: $42,275 (men: $60,917; women: $50,302)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 9.5%
- Households with health insurance: 91.0%
aceshot1 // Shutterstock
14 / 25- Median household income: $72,212 (11.5% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 266,085 (5.4%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 452,648 (9.2%)
- Median earnings for workers: $45,067 (men: $65,375; women: $51,851)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 8.7%
- Households with health insurance: 93.3%
CrackerClips Stock Media // Shutterstock
15 / 25- Median household income: $71,997 (11.8% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 148,247 (5.1%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 278,920 (9.5%)
- Median earnings for workers: $43,255 (men: $60,714; women: $50,326)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 9.3%
- Households with health insurance: 90.3%
Agnieszka Gaul // Shutterstock
16 / 25- Median household income: $71,959 (11.8% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 134,481 (4.8%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 235,596 (8.5%)
- Median earnings for workers: $44,095 (men: $62,312; women: $51,055)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 8.4%
- Households with health insurance: 92.5%
TommyBrison // Shutterstock
17 / 25- Median household income: $71,589 (12.3% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 133,085 (5.2%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 234,033 (9.1%)
- Median earnings for workers: $43,094 (men: $61,542; women: $50,615)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 8.4%
- Households with health insurance: 92.3%
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
18 / 25- Median household income: $67,816 (16.9% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 57,182 (6.7%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 75,957 (8.9%)
- Median earnings for workers: $40,349 (men: $60,234; women: $50,164)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 13.2%
- Households with health insurance: 89.9%
Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock
19 / 25- Median household income: $66,659 (18.3% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 131,977 (6.4%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 171,149 (8.3%)
- Median earnings for workers: $41,871 (men: $61,286; women: $46,985)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 10.9%
- Households with health insurance: 91.8%
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
20 / 25- Median household income: $66,148 (18.9% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 98,805 (6.2%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 118,813 (7.4%)
- Median earnings for workers: $40,862 (men: $56,776; women: $45,853)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 10.9%
- Households with health insurance: 88.5%
f11photo // Shutterstock
21 / 25- Median household income: $64,526 (20.9% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 117,510 (6.3%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 139,493 (7.5%)
- Median earnings for workers: $41,577 (men: $59,165; women: $49,277)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 11.5%
- Households with health insurance: 93.2%
Eduardo Medrano // Shutterstock
22 / 25- Median household income: $62,106 (23.9% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 75,258 (6.0%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 81,825 (6.6%)
- Median earnings for workers: $40,734 (men: $55,242; women: $45,145)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 11.3%
- Households with health insurance: 90.6%
TFoxFoto // Shutterstock
23 / 25- Median household income: $60,986 (25.3% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 138,049 (7.5%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 147,488 (8.0%)
- Median earnings for workers: $40,882 (men: $62,340; women: $45,594)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 13.7%
- Households with health insurance: 92.3%
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
24 / 25- Median household income: $60,798 (25.5% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 47,999 (6.5%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 43,581 (5.9%)
- Median earnings for workers: $40,545 (men: $60,488; women: $46,096)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 12.1%
- Households with health insurance: 94.2%
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
25 / 25- Median household income: $59,127 (27.5% less than U.S. median income)
- Households earning less than $10,000: 83,472 (7.1%)
- Households earning over $200,000: 70,214 (6.0%)
- Median earnings for workers: $39,108 (men: $53,553; women: $43,639)
- Families with income below the poverty level: 13.5%
- Households with health insurance: 90.3%
Data reporting by Wade Zhou.
