State rankings
Living Wage by State
Hawaii has the highest Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) in 2026 ($31.01), followed by Massachusetts ($30.58) and California ($30.48). West Virginia has the lowest ($19.53).
51 of 51 states
Cost-of-living adjustmentConverts wages and incomes to what they would buy at average US prices, so $100k in a cheap state and $100k in an expensive one are not treated as equal.More in the glossary →
Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly), 2026
Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.
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All 51 ranked
Best first.
Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →
Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.
Median
$23.60
Middle half $21.53 – $25.37
Average
$23.74
51 states
Lowest (best)
$19.53
West Virginia
Highest (worst)
$31.01
Hawaii
Biggest changes · 2025 → 2026
51 states have a value in both years.
Improved most
Declined most
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
51 states · # = rank by Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly)
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  West Virginia | $19.53 | $34.32 |
| 2 |  Arkansas | $20.01 | $33.58 |
| 3 |  Kentucky | $20.21 | $33.52 |
| 4 |  Louisiana | $20.37 | $34.16 |
| 5 |  South Dakota | $20.53 | $34.74 |
| 6 |  North Dakota | $20.61 | $35.44 |
| 7 |  Mississippi | $20.69 | $32.68 |
| 8 |  Oklahoma | $20.73 | $35.71 |
| 9 |  Ohio | $21.00 | $38.16 |
| 10 |  Alabama | $21.06 | $34.53 |
| 11 |  Missouri | $21.27 | $37.17 |
| 12 |  Iowa | $21.29 | $34.89 |
| 13 |  Wyoming | $21.45 | $36.17 |
| 14 |  Tennessee | $21.61 | $34.49 |
| 15 |  Kansas | $21.63 | $36.07 |
| 16 |  Nebraska | $21.75 | $37.88 |
| 17 |  Texas | $21.77 | $35.77 |
| 18 |  Indiana | $21.79 | $41.16 |
| 19 |  Wisconsin | $21.88 | $39.94 |
| 20 |  New Mexico | $21.93 | $38.12 |
| 21 |  Michigan | $22.07 | $37.25 |
| 22 |  South Carolina | $22.34 | $36.79 |
| 23 |  North Carolina | $22.47 | $37.54 |
| 24 |  Minnesota | $23.31 | $44.13 |
| 25 |  Pennsylvania | $23.32 | $42.30 |
| 26 |  Idaho | $23.60 | $39.34 |
| 27 |  Delaware | $23.79 | $39.89 |
| 28 |  Florida | $24.09 | $39.87 |
| 29 |  Nevada | $24.16 | $41.58 |
| 30 |  Georgia | $24.21 | $37.86 |
| 31 |  Montana | $24.23 | $44.07 |
| 32 |  Illinois | $24.42 | $41.96 |
| 33 |  Arizona | $24.47 | $41.16 |
| 34 |  Utah | $24.71 | $40.97 |
| 35 |  Maine | $24.74 | $43.21 |
| 36 |  Vermont | $24.92 | $46.67 |
| 37 |  Alaska | $24.98 | $46.25 |
| 38 |  Rhode Island | $25.01 | $45.41 |
| 39 |  Virginia | $25.72 | $42.18 |
| 40 |  New Hampshire | $25.77 | $46.61 |
| 41 |  Maryland | $25.94 | $44.15 |
| 42 |  Colorado | $26.00 | $48.47 |
| 43 |  Connecticut | $26.05 | $51.51 |
| 44 |  Oregon | $26.46 | $48.36 |
| 45 |  Washington | $26.59 | $48.00 |
| 46 |  District of Columbia | $26.72 | $53.59 |
| 47 |  New Jersey | $27.35 | $49.94 |
| 48 |  New York | $29.89 | $51.24 |
| 49 |  California | $30.48 | $53.54 |
| 50 |  Massachusetts | $30.58 | $58.26 |
| 51 |  Hawaii | $31.01 | $54.96 |
What correlates with Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) (2026)?
Pearson r against 2,086 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) tend to score higher on these
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) tend to score lower on these
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly)?
- Hawaii has the highest Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) in 2026, at $31.01, followed by Massachusetts ($30.58) and California ($30.48).
- Which state has the lowest Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly)?
- West Virginia has the lowest Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) in 2026, at $19.53.
- What is the median Livable Wage w/ No Children (Hourly) across US states?
- The median is $23.60 across the 51 US states with data in 2026.
- Where does this living wage by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Living Wage Calculator - MIT; This Is How Much a Living Wage Is in Each State - Zippia.