Investing

$1 Worth Only 87 Cents in New York

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 9, 2016 10:00 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 9:42 am

One dollar is not one dollar throughout most of the United States. That is because of the cost of living in expensive cities and in areas where living is cheap. The conversations about taxes take on additional meaning when it comes to what $1 can buy, and in some cases the standard.

The young people huddled in apartments in New York City because they cannot afford the sky-high rents against the starting salaries they make are an indication of just how weak their purchasing power is.

According to a Tax Foundation study published late in 2014, the value of $100 in New York State is only $86.66. It is worse in Hawaii at $85.32. The gate swings the other way in North Dakota, where the value of $100 is $113.36. Very close to that, the value of $100 is about the same in Missouri at $113.41 and Alabama at $113.51.

Possibly, the cost of living is at least partially offset by income. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the national median household income was $53,657 in 2014. The figure was $54,310 in New York, at least some indication of a struggle to maintain a life style as good as the rest of the country. In Hawaii, the median income was $71,223.

Among “poor” states, the median income level is much lower. In Alabama, the number is $42,278.

Since income within states varies from household to household, just as the tax burden does, an analysis of income versus the cost of living is flawed. However, the figures do tell a broad story about the fact that $1 is not $1 everywhere.