How Far Does $100 Go?
You’re holding in your hand a crisp, new $100 bill. If you want to get the most for your money, spend it in Mississippi, where $100 will buy you items that would cost $115.34 in a state that is closer to the national average. Using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Tax Foundation figured out the real value of $100 in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The states in which $100 is worth the most are Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, South Dakota and Kentucky. The states in which $100 is worth the least are the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey and California.
What $100 is worth in each state from greatest purchasing power to least:
- Mississippi: $115.34
- Arkansas: $114.29
- Alabama: $113.90
- South Dakota: $113.64
- Kentucky: $112.74
- West Virginia: $112.49
- Ohio: $111.98
- Missouri: $111.86
- Oklahoma: $110.99
- Tennessee: $110.86
- Iowa: $110.74
- South Carolina: $110.50
- Nebraska: $110.38
- Kansas: $110.25
- Louisiana and Indiana (tie): $109.41
- North Dakota: $109.29
- North Carolina: $109.05
- Georgia: $108.70
- Idaho and Wisconsin (tie): $107.07
- Michigan: $106.27
- Montana: $106.16
- New Mexico: $105.26
- Wyoming: $103.95
- Arizona: $103.73
- Texas: $103.52
- Utah: $103.09
- Maine: $102.99
- Minnesota: $102.46
- Nevada: $102.35
- Pennsylvania: $101.83
- Rhode Island: $101.32
- Oregon: $101.01
- Florida: $100.91
- Illinois: $99.30
- Vermont: $98.81
- Delaware: $98.14
- Colorado: $98.04
- Virginia: $97.47
- Washington: $96.34
- New Hampshire: $95.06
- Alaska: $94.61
- Massachusetts: $93.37
- Connecticut: $91.91
- Maryland: $90.66
- California: $88.87
- New Jersey: $87.34
- New York: $86.43
- Hawaii: $85.62
- District of Columbia: $84.67
Bottom line: real purchasing power is 36 percent greater in Mississippi than it is in the District of Columbia,” according to the Tax Foundation. “In other words: By this measure, if you have $50,000 in after-tax income in Mississippi, you would have to have after-tax earnings of $68,000 in the District of Columbia just to afford the same overall standard of living.”