The Real Value of $100 in Each State, 2014

This dataviz shows the real value of $100 across states. Prices for the same goods are often significantly cheaper in such states as Missouri or Ohio than they are in states like New York or California. As a result, the same amount of cash can allow you to buy comparatively more in a low-price state than in a high-price one.

Let's take Ohio, for example. It is a low-price state, where, $100 will buy you stuff that would have cost $111.98 in a state at the national average price level. In other words, it means that Ohioans are, for the purposes of day-to-day living, 11 percent richer than their incomes suggest.

The states where $100 is worth the most are Mississippi ($115.34), Arkansas ($114.29), Alabama ($113.90), South Dakota ($113.64), and West Virginia ($112.49). In contrast, $100 is effectively worth the least in the District of Columbia ($84.67), Hawaii ($85.62), New York ($86.43), New Jersey ($87.34), and California ($88.97).