In a Nov. 8 op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Mike Romano, a Democratic West Virginia state senator, said West Virginia’s median household income was nearly $17,000 below the national average.
“In 2017, West Virginia’s $43,469 median household income was $16,867 below the national average, ranking 50th, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,” Romano wrote.
Is that correct? We took a closer look.
In September 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau released a report that included data for household income in 2017.
The figure for the United States was $60,336, while the figure for West Virginia was $43,469. The difference is exactly $16,867, as Romano said.
Meanwhile, we ranked the 50 states by household income and found that West Virginia ranked last, trailing Mississippi by $60.
Here’s the full ranking:
Maryland | $80,776 |
New Jersey | 80,088 |
Hawaii | 77,765 |
Massachusetts | 77,385 |
Connecticut | 74,168 |
New Hampshire | 73,381 |
Alaska | 73,181 |
California | 71,805 |
Virginia | 71,535 |
Washington | 70,979 |
Colorado | 69,117 |
Minnesota | 68,388 |
Utah | 68,358 |
New York | 64,894 |
Rhode Island | 63,870 |
Illinois | 62,992 |
Delaware | 62,852 |
North Dakota | 61,843 |
Wyoming | 60,434 |
Oregon | 60,212 |
Nebraska | 59,970 |
Wisconsin | 59,305 |
Texas | 59,206 |
Pennsylvania | 59,195 |
Iowa | 58,570 |
Nevada | 58,003 |
Vermont | 57,513 |
Arizona | 56,581 |
South Dakota | 56,521 |
Kansas | 56,422 |
Maine | 56,277 |
Georgia | 56,183 |
Michigan | 54,909 |
Indiana | 54,181 |
Ohio | 54,021 |
Missouri | 53,578 |
Montana | 53,386 |
North Carolina | 52,752 |
Florida | 52,594 |
Idaho | 52,225 |
Tennessee | 51,340 |
South Carolina | 50,570 |
Oklahoma | 50,051 |
Kentucky | 48,375 |
Alabama | 48,123 |
New Mexico | 46,744 |
Louisiana | 46,145 |
Arkansas | 45,869 |
Mississippi | 43,529 |
West Virginia | 43,469 |
Romano wrote, “In 2017, West Virginia’s $43,469 median household income was $16,867 below the national average, ranking 50th according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”
His statement is fully correct — on West Virginia’s median household income, on its distance from the national average, and in its 50th place ranking.
We rate the statement True.
This story was originally published by PolitiFact.