Money goes further in some states than others.
The Tax Foundation released a map, via Elliot Turner, showing the relative value of $100 in every state compared to the national averaged using the data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In expensive states like New York, you can afford comparatively less than average; while in less expensive states like Mississippi, you can buy relatively more.
If you look at the map, you'll notice that the relative value of $100 is higher in the center of the country, while the relative value of $100 is significantly less in the northeast and west coast.
"The same amount of dollars are worth almost 40 percent more in Mississippi than in DC, and the differences become even larger if metro area prices are considered instead of statewide averages," writes the Tax Foundation. "A person who makes $40,000 a year after tax in Kentucky would need to have after-tax earnings of $53,000 in Washington, DC just in order to have an equal standard of living, let alone feel richer."
Here's the map:
The states with the smallest relative value of $100 were:
- Washington D.C. ($84.60)
- Hawaii ($85.32)
- New York ($86.66)
- New Jersey ($87.64)
- California ($88.57)
While the states with the largest relative value of $100 were:
- Mississippi ($115.74)
- Arkansas ($114.16)
- Missouri ($113.51)
- Alabama ($113.51)
- South Dakota ($113.38)