CA Has Third-Highest Household Income In U.S.: Study

CALIFORNIA — California has the third-highest average household income in the country, according to a recent ranking.

A study by QR Code Generator analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau to find the estimated average household income for each state based on annual earnings from 2022.

The Golden State ranked third with an average household income of $131,504 and median income of $91,551, according to the study, which found 18 percent of California's roughly 13.6 million households earned $200,000 or more and 17.6 percent earned $100,000 to $149,999.

New Jersey had the highest household income nationwide with an average of $134,191 and a median of $96,346, according to the ranking. Massachusetts was second with an average of $133,823 and a median of $94,488.

“New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California rank across the top three, which could be due to their notably high cost of living compared to other states," QR Code Generator CEO Marc Porcar said in a news release about the findings. "Each of them is also known for having prestigious universities, like Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford."

“It would be interesting to see whether these rankings change in subsequent years and to compare results across the past five or ten years to see which states have had the highest growth in average household earnings.”

Ranked just behind California — the only West Coast state in the top five — was Connecticut at fourth, with an average household income of $128,160 and a median income of $88,429.

Mississippi was the lowest-ranking state and had an average household income of $72,624 and a median income of $52,719.