If you had to guess where America’s highest earners live, you might imagine the booming metropolis of New York or the tech-intensive cities that make up Silicon Valley.
But the state where workers earn the highest median annual salary is actually Massachusetts, where the median income in 2023 is about $60,690, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Workers in the District of Columbia have a higher median annual salary, at $84,450, but Massachusetts is the highest-earning state.
A number of reasons help Massachusetts workers earn higher wages. The state is home to booming biotechnology and engineering hubs, which are industries known for their high-paying jobs. Top universities like Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which historically produce high salaries, could also boost Massachusetts’ median salaries.
Check out the map below to see the median salary in each U.S. state.
The Northeast is a high-income region, home to five of the ten states with the highest median annual wages, including Massachusetts. The West Coast has two of the highest-paying states – No. 2 Washington and No. 10 California – in the top 10.
Here are the 10 U.S. states with the highest median annual wages.
Although the salaries in these states may seem disproportionate compared to other states, the cost of living is also generally higher.
Hawaii is the only state — not counting the District of Columbia — where the average annual cost of living is higher than Massachusetts, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
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