Highest wages in East, lowest in South

[Dr. Jack]

Highest wages in East, lowest in South
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Americans have been migrating south and west for decades, but it appears they've been leaving some high-paying jobs behind. While there are many pockets of wealth in the South and West, the states with the highest wage earners line the East Coast, according to Census data released Tuesday.

Connecticut, with a median household income of $56,409, supplanted New Jersey as the country's highest wage state in 2003, the most recent year available. New Jersey slid to second, at $56,356, followed by Maryland, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Mississippi had the lowest median income, at $32,397. West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana and Montana rounded out the bottom five.

The median household income for the nation — half were higher, half were lower — was $43,318.

Census figures show that Southern and Western states have been growing in population much faster than those in the Northeast and Midwest.

But despite those population shifts, the list of wealthiest — and poorest — states in 2003 looks a lot like the list from a decade before.

"You're going to see those areas — Mississippi, Appalachia — those are just characteristically, throughout history, poorer areas," said David Waddington, chief of the Census Bureau's small area estimates branch.

The wage gap among counties was even more pronounced than the one for states.

Los Alamos County in New Mexico, home of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, had the nation's highest median income, at $93,089.

It was followed by Douglas County in Colorado and Loudoun County in northern Virginia.

Buffalo County in South Dakota, home of the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, had the lowest, at $17,003.

It was followed by Owsley County in Kentucky and Ziebach County, also in South Dakota.

Most of the wealthiest counties were suburban, and nearly all the poorest ones were rural.

"This is a reflection of a poverty problem in non-metro areas," said Dean Jolliffe, an economist at the Department of Agriculture. "These are areas where there really isn't any economic development going on."

Jolliffe tracks "persistent poverty" counties, ones in which at least 20% of the population have lived below the poverty level for at least 30 years.
There were 386 persistent poverty counties in 2000, and 340 were outside metropolitan areas.

None was in the Northeast. Most were in the South.

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Median income
Connecticut $56,409
New Jersey $56,356
Maryland $54,302
Massachusetts $52,713
New Hampshire $52,409
Alaska $52,391
Minnesota $50,750
Virginia $50,028
Colorado $49,248
Delaware $48,770
California $48,440
Hawaii $48,274
Washington $48,185
Illinois $47,367
Utah $46,709
Wisconsin $46,538
Michigan $46,291
Nevada $45,249
Rhode Island $45,006
New York $44,139
Indiana $43,323
United States $43,318
District of Columbia $43,215
Ohio $43,119
Kansas $43,113
Pennsylvania $42,952
Vermont $42,649
Oregon $42,593
Georgia $42,421
Iowa $42,278
Nebraska $41,984
Arizona $41,963
Wyoming $41,554
Missouri $40,870
Texas $39,967
Idaho $39,859
North Carolina $39,438
Maine $39,212
Florida $38,985
North Dakota $38,223
South Dakota $38,008
South Carolina $38,003
Tennessee $37,925
Kentucky $36,663
Alabama $36,131
Oklahoma $35,634
New Mexico $35,091
Montana $34,449
Louisiana $33,792
Arkansas $33,445
West Virginia $32,967
Mississippi $32,397
Source: Census Bureau

[The Judge]

Los Alamos County in New Mexico, home of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, had the nation's highest median income, at $93,089.

Median income
New Mexico $35,091

This is a huge discrepancy. New Mexico has always been a poor state and to make matters worse, the state government's tax base is severly limited due to the large amount of the state that is either owned by Indian tribes or the federal government. If I am not mistaken, the public education system in New Mexico is the poorest in the nation.

[Wreck_IT]

Yes I am from New Mexico the public education sucks.

[RanPicks]

$50K in the northeast or $40K in Texas. Give me the $40K in Texas. I'll be richer...

[Romanowski]

EZ Runner and good point, wonder why so many are moving from NY to Charlotte, its not just the weather, cost of living and a housing market that isnt whacko

[RanPicks]

No doubt. People come here (to TX) all the time and are amazed at the house they can get compared to what they used to have in the east (or Cali). I'm sure it's that way in NC. NC is really pretty.

[Hoosiercatdaddy]

Buffalo County in South Dakota, home of the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, had the lowest, at $17,003.

Wow I think I made this working in high school. I feel for these people, but hope their means of living are different. Could be some old fashioned kill your dinner and heat with fire.

[RanPicks]

Originally Posted by Hoosiercatdaddy

Could be some old fashioned kill your dinner and heat with fire.

You can bet on that... It's that way in most rural areas. That'd be a tough gig in the desert states AZ, NM. I wonder how many lizards it would take to fill me up? J/K <prnd>