By Karlee Van De Venter
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
(TNS)
How much does the average American earn each year? According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, U.S. residents make a median annual income of $83,700.
With the top earners making significantly more than lower-income Americans, that number doesn’t account for a large portion of the country’s population.
“There is a great deal of income disparity, with some people making vastly more than that while others are unfortunately stuck in poverty,” WalletHub financial writer Adam McCann wrote in a June 2 article.
In fact, the highest-earning 10% of U.S. residents earn more than 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10%, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
Personal finance website WalletHub went in search of the states where residents made the highest incomes in 2026, based on earnings for three different segments of the population.
According to the WalletHub analysis, Washington state residents earn the fourth-highest annual incomes across the country. The Evergreen State trailed Virginia, New York and New Jersey in the national ranking.
In Washington state, the top 5% of earners enjoyed an average annual income of $522,328, while the bottom 20% earn $19,082 a year on average, according to WalletHub.
Overall, residents in Washington state had a median annual income of $112,933. That’s nearly $30,000 above the federal median.
What are the top 10 states for high incomes?
According to WalletHub, these were the U.S. states (including Washington, D.C.) where residents earned the highest annual incomes in 2026:
1. Virginia
2. New York
3. New Jersey
4. Washington state
5. Connecticut
6. Utah
7. Colorado
8. Minnesota
9. Illinois
10. Massachusetts
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10 States Where People Have the Highest Incomes
Where do people earn the lowest incomes?
In 2026, the states (including Washington, D.C.) where residents earned the lowest annual incomes, according to the WalletHub study, were:
51. West Virginia
50: New Mexico
49: Mississippi
48: Louisiana
47: Maine
46: Rhode Island
45: Alabama
44: Vermont
43: Kentucky
42: Alaska
Washington state was the only state on the West Coast to crack the top 10. California was No. 13 on the list.
Washington’s neighbors, Idaho and Oregon, landed at No. 20 and No. 38, respectively.
How did WalletHub rank states with biggest earners?
To determine the states where residents earn the most, WalletHub analyzed three key metrics: the average annual income of the top 5% of earners, the average annual income of the bottom 20% and the median annual income of all residents.
Each metric was adjusted for the cost of living index, according to WalletHub.
“By measuring the income of various percentiles against a state’s median income, we can better identify where income disparities are more prevalent,” Lupo said, which could help researchers “better understand why residents of certain states struggle more to make ends meet.”
Income Levels by State
| Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Average Annual Income of Top 5% (Adjusted for COLI) | Median Annual Income (Adjusted for COLI) | Average Annual Income of Bottom 20% (Adjusted for COLI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia | 67.57 | $545,097 | $95,339 | $19,671 |
| 2 | New York | 66.27 | $585,523 | $96,746 | $13,633 |
| 3 | New Jersey | 66.08 | $527,376 | $125,766 | $17,418 |
| 4 | Washington | 65.23 | $522,328 | $112,933 | $19,082 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 64.73 | $543,016 | $122,032 | $15,095 |
| 6 | Utah | 61.24 | $475,515 | $98,858 | $24,307 |
| 7 | Colorado | 59.65 | $498,587 | $106,187 | $19,588 |
| 8 | Minnesota | 58.66 | $500,074 | $90,632 | $20,662 |
| 9 | Illinois | 57.88 | $533,840 | $83,277 | $16,813 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 57.11 | $498,062 | $137,563 | $14,440 |
| 11 | Texas | 54.93 | $520,378 | $75,905 | $17,651 |
| 12 | District of Columbia | 54.11 | $488,074 | $174,287 | $9,579 |
| 13 | California | 53.45 | $482,584 | $133,974 | $14,662 |
| 14 | Georgia | 52.76 | $516,260 | $72,437 | $17,301 |
| 15 | Florida | 49.89 | $507,073 | $75,737 | $16,378 |
| 16 | Maryland | 49.12 | $446,096 | $130,760 | $17,099 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 47.47 | $431,904 | $120,743 | $19,109 |
| 18 | Arizona | 45.08 | $468,720 | $82,171 | $17,627 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 44.98 | $486,532 | $69,097 | $16,869 |
| 20 | Idaho | 44.76 | $451,372 | $77,612 | $20,170 |
| 21 | Tennessee | 44.39 | $489,574 | $64,242 | $16,714 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | 44.11 | $475,515 | $79,396 | $16,529 |
| 23 | Missouri | 43.24 | $474,872 | $63,960 | $17,925 |
| 24 | Michigan | 42.47 | $472,285 | $66,568 | $17,489 |
| 25 | Delaware | 41.63 | $434,280 | $93,090 | $18,651 |
| 26 | Nebraska | 41.33 | $451,904 | $77,198 | $18,131 |
| 27 | Kansas | 39.49 | $446,377 | $73,041 | $18,235 |
| 28 | Ohio | 38.94 | $461,303 | $66,284 | $16,830 |
| 29 | South Dakota | 38.22 | $438,438 | $74,633 | $18,305 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | 37.15 | $426,384 | $77,706 | $18,831 |
| 31 | Montana | 35.43 | $436,593 | $75,018 | $16,845 |
| 32 | Iowa | 35.28 | $422,211 | $73,217 | $18,791 |
| 33 | Nevada | 35.28 | $433,697 | $87,278 | $15,669 |
| 34 | Wyoming | 33.43 | $421,904 | $80,144 | $16,917 |
| 35 | Indiana | 32.97 | $424,849 | $68,831 | $17,617 |
| 36 | North Dakota | 32.09 | $417,999 | $81,943 | $16,405 |
| 37 | South Carolina | 31.75 | $440,613 | $68,545 | $14,941 |
| 38 | Oregon | 31.69 | $409,723 | $98,039 | $15,305 |
| 39 | Hawaii | 30.01 | $360,535 | $149,911 | $14,375 |
| 40 | Arkansas | 27.70 | $437,186 | $54,730 | $14,622 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | 27.45 | $423,642 | $60,653 | $15,482 |
| 42 | Alaska | 26.79 | $352,276 | $122,341 | $16,793 |
| 43 | Kentucky | 26.16 | $430,052 | $58,875 | $14,126 |
| 44 | Vermont | 25.72 | $378,220 | $98,415 | $15,723 |
| 45 | Alabama | 25.45 | $426,346 | $59,643 | $14,083 |
| 46 | Rhode Island | 24.00 | $375,919 | $112,273 | $13,359 |
| 47 | Maine | 19.89 | $368,193 | $87,287 | $14,878 |
| 48 | Louisiana | 18.59 | $412,645 | $59,048 | $11,847 |
| 49 | Mississippi | 14.25 | $394,448 | $50,090 | $12,647 |
| 50 | New Mexico | 13.66 | $379,521 | $64,450 | $12,485 |
| 51 | West Virginia | 11.84 | $372,218 | $56,610 | $13,260 |
Data was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau and Council for Community and Economic Research.
Photo credit: geralt/Pixabay
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© 2026 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.). Visit www.TheNewsTribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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Tags: income, income inequality, Payroll, states
