How do incomes in Washington state compare to rest of US? What new study says
How much does the average American earn each year?
According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, U.S. residents make a median annual income of $83,700.
With the top earners making significantly more than lower-income Americans, that number doesn’t account for a large portion of the country’s population.
“There is a great deal of income disparity, with some people making vastly more than that while others are unfortunately stuck in poverty,” WalletHub financial writer Adam McCann wrote in a June 2 article.
In fact, the highest-earning 10% of U.S. residents earn more than 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10%, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
Personal finance website WalletHub went in search of the states where residents made the highest incomes in 2026, based on earnings for three different segments of the population.
How did Washington state do?
How much do residents earn in Washington state?
According to the WalletHub analysis, Washington state residents earn the fourth-highest annual incomes across the country..
The Evergreen State trailed New York and New Jersey in the national ranking.
In Washington state, the top 5% of earners enjoyed an average annual income of $522,328, while the bottom 20% earn $19,082 a year on average, according to WalletHub.
Overall, residents in Washington state had a median annual income of $112,933. That’s nearly $30,000 above the federal median.
What are the top 10 states for high incomes?
According to WalletHub, these were the U.S. states where residents earned the highest annual incomes in 2026:
- Virginia
- New York
- New Jersey
- Washington
- Connecticut
- Utah
- Colorado
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
Where do people earn the lowest incomes?
In 2026, the states where residents earned the lowest annual incomes were Maine, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and West Virginia, according to the WalletHub study.
Washington state was the only state on the West Coast to crack the top 10.
California was No. 13 on the list.
Washington’s neighbors, Idaho and Oregon, landed at No. 20 and No. 38, respectively.
How did WalletHub rank states with biggest earners?
To determine the states where residents earn the most, WalletHub analyzed three key metrics: the average annual income of the top 5% of earners, the average annual income of the bottom 20% and the median annual income of all residents.
Each metric was adjusted for the cost of living index, according to WalletHub.
“By measuring the income of various percentiles against a state’s median income, we can better identify where income disparities are more prevalent,” Lupo said, which could help researchers “better understand why residents of certain states struggle more to make ends meet.”
Data was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau and Council for Community and Economic Research.
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "How do incomes in Washington state compare to rest of US? What new study says."