Adjusting for the cost of living, the median income for a family in Tennessee is $65,656, the ninth lowest in the U.S., reports financial news website 247wallst.com. The household income range in Tennessee for a family to be considered middle income is $22,992 to $113,291. From state to state, the cost of living varies significantly. Adjusting for the cost of living, the bottom threshold of the middle class in one state is as low as $21,797 and as high as $148,507 in another.
To determine the income, it takes for a family to be considered middle class in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on the upper and lower bounds of U.S. household income quintiles from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey. The boundaries of the three middle income quintiles for the U.S. as a whole were adjusted for state-level cost of living using regional price parity data for 2017 from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The RPP-adjusted boundaries were defined as the range of income that could be considered middle class in a given state.
10 States with the Lowest Median Family Income
1. Mississippi — $57,380
2. West Virginia — $57,718
3. Arkansas — $58,080
4. New Mexico — $58,760
5. Louisiana — $61,847
6. Kentucky — $62,228
7. Alabama — $63,837
8. Oklahoma — $64,082
9. Tennessee — $65,656
10. South Carolina — $65,742
10 States with the Highest Median Family Income
1. Massachusetts — $101,548
2. Maryland — $101,437
3. New Jersey — $101,404
4. Connecticut — $98,100
5. Hawaii — $95,448
6. New Hampshire — $93,930
7. Alaska — $89,847
8. Minnesota — $89,039
9. Colorado — $88,955
10. Virginia — $88,92
