Top 10 Richest States in the USA (2026)

Ask ten people to name the richest state in America and most will say New York or California. They’re thinking of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, of skyscrapers and tech campuses. Fair guesses. But the official numbers tell a different story.

Measured by what a typical household actually earns, the top spot in 2025 belongs to New Jersey. Maryland sits a hair behind it. New Hampshire, a small state better known for maple syrup and early primaries, comes in third. New York doesn’t make the top ten at all.

That gap between reputation and reality is why this ranking matters. Big economies and big paychecks are not the same thing. A state can produce trillions of dollars in output and still have millions of households living paycheck to paycheck. Another state can be modest in size yet full of well-paid professionals, two-income families and high-value jobs.

The figures below come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s newest American Community Survey, released on October 29, 2026. They’re cross-checked against per capita personal income from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

This guide looks at the richest states in the USA for 2026, what drives the money in each one and what the numbers leave out.

How We Ranked the Richest States in the USA

There is no single official measure of a “rich” state, so it helps to be clear about what we used and why.

Primary metric: median household income

Our ranking uses median household income from the Census Bureau’s 2025 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, published on October 29, 2026. The median is the midpoint: half of households earn more and half earn less. Unlike an average, it isn’t pulled upward by a handful of billionaires, so it says more about how a typical family is doing. The national median for 2025 was $84,780, up 1.2% from 2024 after adjusting for inflation.

Cross-check: per capita personal income

We compared every state against the BEA’s 2025 per capita personal income, which counts wages plus investment income, rent and government benefits, divided by population. The BEA updated these state figures in September 2026. The national per capita figure for 2025 was $77,028. Where the two measures disagree, we point it out.

A note on Washington, D.C., and close calls

The District of Columbia posted a higher median household income ($109,505) than any state, but it is a federal district, not a state, so it isn’t ranked here. Also keep in mind that these are survey estimates with margins of error. The top five states sit within a few thousand dollars of each other, and several of them are statistically tied.

Richest States in the USA at a Glance (2025 Data)

Top 10 Richest States in the USA (2026)

Here are the richest states in the USA by median household income in the latest federal data, from first to tenth.

1. New Jersey

New Jersey had the highest median household income of any state in 2025, at $107,797. Location factors into that advantage as much as anything. Millions of Garden State residents live within commuting distance of New York City or Philadelphia, where jobs tend to pay among the highest in the country, even for people who live outside city limits.

New Jersey also has a high concentration of pharmaceutical and life sciences companies. Merck’s global headquarters is in Rahway, and Johnson & Johnson is based in New Brunswick. Throw in a large financial services sector and one of the busiest port complexes on the Eastern Seaboard, and the income profile makes sense. New Jersey ranked sixth among states on per capita personal income, at $89,720 in 2025.

✔ Median household income: $107,797 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Pharma headquarters, finance, logistics and ports
✔ Watch out for: High property taxes and housing costs

2. Maryland

Maryland ranked second with a median household income of $107,700 in 2025, just $97 behind New Jersey. Given the survey’s margin of error, the two are effectively tied. Much of Maryland’s economy revolves around the federal government. Its suburbs wrap around Washington, D.C., and many residents work either for federal agencies or for the companies that contract with them.

The National Institutes of Health is based in Bethesda, which has helped create a life sciences corridor along Interstate 270. Defense, cybersecurity and research are other major employers. However, Maryland ranks just 10th on per capita personal income ($82,387 in 2025). That suggests its strength lies in high-earning households rather than unusually large investment income.

✔ Median household income: $107,700 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Federal agencies, biotech, defense and cybersecurity
✔ Watch out for: Exposure to federal budget and workforce cuts

3. New Hampshire

New Hampshire is the surprise of the list for many readers. Its median household income rose to $106,759 in 2025, a 4.2% increase from 2024 after inflation and one of the largest statistically significant gains of any state. That lifted it into third place.

Part of the appeal is tax policy. New Hampshire doesn’t have a broad-based tax on wages, and it repealed its tax on interest and dividends as of January 1, 2025. Southern towns near the Massachusetts border pull in high-income workers who commute to or around Boston. Advanced manufacturing, health care, financial services and tourism in the White Mountains and Lakes Region drive the state’s own economy. Per capita personal income was $88,145 in 2025.

✔ Median household income: $106,759 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: No wage income tax, precision manufacturing, outdoor tourism
✔ Watch out for: Tight housing supply and rising home prices

4. Massachusetts

Median household income in Massachusetts was $106,539 in 2025. That edged down from its 2024 figure after inflation, though not by enough to be statistically significant. Even so, Massachusetts is still one of the wealthiest states by almost any metric. Its per capita personal income of $98,700 ranked second in the nation, behind only Connecticut.

The state is home to Harvard and MIT, and those universities help fuel a dense cluster of biotech, medical device and software companies. Hospitals, asset managers and consulting firms employ thousands of high-wage workers as well. The Bay State also has one of the best-educated workforces in the country, which keeps wages high across many industries.

✔ Median household income: $106,539 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Biotech, universities, hospitals and finance
✔ Watch out for: Some of the highest housing costs in the U.S.

5. Hawaii

Median household income in Hawaii was $105,013 in 2025, the fifth highest of any state. That might seem odd to people who see Hawaii mainly as a vacation destination, but it reflects household structure as much as paychecks. Many Hawaii households include several working adults or multiple generations of a family, which pushes household income up.

Tourism is Hawaii’s largest private industry, while military bases and federal spending support a steady job market. The picture changes on per capita personal income: Hawaii’s $76,966 in 2025 ranked only 18th among the states. Its survey estimate also has one of the wider margins of error on this list. Combined with living costs that are among the highest in the country, a Hawaii household income does not stretch as far as it would elsewhere.

✔ Median household income: $105,013 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Tourism, military presence, multigenerational households
✔ Watch out for: Very high cost of living and housing

6. California

California has the nation’s biggest economy by a wide margin. Its GDP hit a record $4.25 trillion in 2025, according to BEA figures cited by the governor’s office, equal to about 13.8% of the U.S. economy. Median household income in California was $102,159, while per capita personal income was $90,957, fifth highest among the states.

Silicon Valley. Hollywood. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The largest farm sector in the country. All of them sit inside California, and that scale is why the state places so well. Keep in mind that California was the only state where median household income fell by a statistically significant amount between 2024 and 2025, down 0.7% after inflation. Big totals don’t protect Californians against high housing costs or slower wage growth for typical households.

✔ Median household income: $102,159 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Tech, entertainment, trade and agriculture
✔ Watch out for: Housing costs and a slight dip in median income

7. Washington

Washington State posted a median household income of $101,946 in 2025 and per capita personal income of $88,944. Much of that wealth is concentrated in the Seattle metro area, home to Microsoft in Redmond and Amazon in Seattle. Their presence has drawn thousands of software engineers and built a large ecosystem of cloud, software and gaming companies.

Tech drives the economy but is far from the whole picture. Aerospace manufacturing has deep roots in the Puget Sound region, while Washington’s ports are a major gateway for U.S. trade with Asia. Eastern Washington adds agriculture, including apples and wheat. The state has no personal income tax on wages, which has helped it attract high earners, though it does tax some large capital gains.

✔ Median household income: $101,946 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Cloud computing, software, aerospace, Pacific trade
✔ Watch out for: Income concentrated in the Seattle area

8. Connecticut

Connecticut ranks No. 8 on median household income ($100,056) but No. 1 among states on per capita personal income ($102,307 in 2025). The difference between those two figures tells you a lot about Connecticut’s economy. It has some of the highest incomes in the country at the top end, and many of those high earners live in Fairfield County, where hedge funds and investment firms cluster near New York City.

Hartford has long been known as an insurance capital, and defense manufacturing adds another layer of high-skill jobs. Investment income pushes up the per capita figure, while the median shows that typical household earnings are strong but not the highest. Connecticut also has the second-highest income inequality among the states by the Census Bureau’s Gini index, after New York, so averages can hide very different experiences across its towns and cities.

✔ Median household income: $100,056 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Insurance, hedge funds, defense manufacturing
✔ Watch out for: Wide income gaps between towns

9. Colorado

Colorado’s median household income barely moved from 2024 to 2025, checking in at $99,729, while per capita personal income was $86,342. The Denver-Boulder area drives most of that, with a workforce that is more highly educated than the national average.

Aerospace is one of the state’s signature industries. United Launch Alliance is headquartered in Centennial, and the Front Range is home to a large cluster of space and defense firms. Tech companies, outdoor recreation brands, energy producers and tourism round out the economy. That mix has made Colorado one of the more resilient state economies in the West, though Denver-area housing has become much more expensive over the past decade.

✔ Median household income: $99,729 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Aerospace, tech, energy and outdoor recreation
✔ Watch out for: Rising housing costs along the Front Range

10. Virginia

Virginia makes the top ten with a median household income of $99,322 in 2025. That marked a 5.0% increase from 2024 after inflation, the largest gain of any state on this list. Virginia and 11th-place Utah ($99,311) are essentially tied, though: the $11 difference is well within the margin of error.

Much like Maryland, Virginia leans heavily on its D.C. suburbs. Fairfax County, Loudoun County and the areas around them are home to federal contractors, defense firms and much of the Pentagon’s workforce. Northern Virginia is also the largest data center market in the world, which has brought heavy investment and significant tax revenue. Outside the D.C. suburbs, you’ll find shipbuilding, ports, agriculture and an emerging tech scene in Richmond. Per capita personal income was $80,903 in 2025.

✔ Median household income: $99,322 (2025 ACS)
✔ Known for: Federal contracting, data centers, defense and ports
✔ Watch out for: Big income gaps between northern and southern regions

What Makes a State Rich? A Reader’s Guide

Rankings like this one are useful, but they are easy to misread. Here is what to keep in mind before drawing conclusions.

Income is not the same as wealth

Median household income is a measure of annual earnings. Wealth is a measure of what people own, from homes to savings and investments. A state can post high incomes and relatively modest wealth if residents pour most of their paychecks into pricey housing. The reverse can happen in states with older populations holding significant assets.

Big GDP does not mean rich households

Total GDP rewards size. California, Texas and New York have the largest economies, but large populations spread that output across many people. That is why New York, which ranks third on per capita personal income, misses the top ten on median household income.

Cost of living changes the picture

Cost of living matters too. A $105,000 income buys far less in Hawaii or Massachusetts than it does in a lower-cost state. If you’re thinking of relocating, weigh housing prices, taxes and regional costs alongside income.

Margins of error matter at the top

Survey estimates are released with margins of error. If two states are less than $100 apart, like New Jersey and Maryland here, treat them as statistically tied rather than first and second.

FAQs

What is the richest state in the USA in 2026?

New Jersey has the highest median household income of any state for 2025, at $107,797, according to the latest Census Bureau data. Maryland comes in just short at $107,700. If you gauge wealth by per capita personal income instead, Connecticut ranks highest among the states at $102,307.

Is Washington, D.C., richer than every state?

Yes, on both measures. D.C. had a median household income of $109,505 and per capita personal income of $119,772 in 2025. We list it separately because it is not a state.

What is the poorest state in the USA?

Mississippi had the lowest median household income of any state in 2025, at $59,346, according to the Census Bureau.

Why isn’t New York in the top 10?

New York has very high earners and ranks third on per capita personal income, but its median household income of $89,210 trails all ten states on this list. Income is spread unevenly, and large lower-income populations pull the median down.

How often is this data updated?

The Census Bureau publishes new 1-year American Community Survey estimates every fall, and the BEA updates state personal income data a few times a year. We’ll update this list when newer figures become available.

Conclusion

The richest states in the USA aren’t always the ones with the biggest skylines. New Jersey, Maryland and New Hampshire lead on median household income because they combine high-paying industries, proximity to major job centers and plenty of two-income households. California and Washington ride large, tech-driven economies, while Connecticut stands out for income at the very top.

Numbers will shift again when the next survey comes out, and the gap between the top five is small enough that the order could change. For now, these ten states show where typical American households earn the most. For a look at wealth at the individual level, see our real-time ranking of the world’s richest people, or our list of the richest YouTubers in India.