All 50 States Ranked by Livability

Though Pennsylvania’s median household income is about $2,300 lower than the U.S. median of $65,712, the state’s poverty rate of 12.0% is lower than most states and just under the 12.3% national rate. Goods and services tend to be 2.5% cheaper in Pennsylvania than they are on average nationwide.

However, the state struggles in several economic measures. An estimated 13.5% of residents rely on food stamps, the sixth highest share among states, and the 2019 unemployment rate of 4.4% ranked seventh highest that year. Also, Pennsylvania’s life expectancy at birth of 78.3 years is nearly a full year shorter than the average nationwide.

By some key socioeconomic measures, South Dakota is in-line with, or better than, the U.S. as a whole. For example, the state’s 11.9% poverty rate is slightly lower than the 12.3% national rate. Additionally, life expectancy at birth in the state is 79.1 years — the same as it is across the United States.

One area in which South Dakota lags, however, is in educational attainment. Only 29.7% of state residents aged 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 33.1% of U.S. adults.

Texans are more likely than residents in most other states to face serious financial hardship. An estimated 13.6% of the state population lives below the poverty line, a larger share than the 12.3% national poverty rate.

Incomes tend to go up with educational attainment, and in Texas, adults are less likely to have a four-year college degree than adults in much of the rest of the country. Just 30.8% of the 25 and older residents in the state have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 33.1% of adults nationwide.

North Carolina’s median household income is $57,341 annually, over $8,000 less than the U.S. median. However, goods and services are more than 8% cheaper in the state than what they cost on average nationwide.

Income is closely tied with education, and North Carolina lags behind much of the rest of the country in educational attainment. Though the state’s high school attainment rate of 88.6% is the same as the national rate, it ranks just 33rd among states. North Carolina also has a 32.3% bachelor’s degree attainment rate for adults 25 and over, compared to the national rate of 33.1%.

Georgia’s population has one of the lower life expectancies at birth among states. On average, Americans born in Georgia live 77.8 years, over a year below the average life expectancy at birth nationwide of 79.1 years.

Georgians are also more likely than the typical American to struggle economically. An estimated 13.3% of the state population live below the line, compared to 12.3% of the U.S. population.