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 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.
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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%
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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.
