Quote:
Originally Posted by opendoor
That's GDP per capita, which is a very imperfect measure, not income. For instance, Ireland saw its GDP per capita increase something like 30% in a year simply because Apple moved the domecile of its intellectual property there. Obviously Irish peoples' income didn't increase by 30%, and the US is much the same. There are lots of huge companies headquartered there, but that doesn't necessarily end up in peoples' hands as income. Throw in huge income inequality which skews averages higher, and GDP per capita is a bad measure to judge the average American's income.
If you go by median household income (i.e. what people actually earn), Alberta, BC, Ontario, and Quebec are about average among states.
Have you ever been to Alabama or those other poor states? I've been to 45 of the 50 states and it is abundantly clear that the median income in the poorer states is not what it is in Canada. The level of poverty there is astounding.
I mean, just use basic logic. The average home price in Alabama is something like $200K and consumer goods are generally cheaper there than Canada. If the median income is the same as Ontario, then the median Alabama resident must either have a significant amount of wealth saved up or be living in luxury. Yet they aren't, and 1 in 6 families lives in poverty there. They also have a life expectancy that's about a decade shorter than Canada's, which again should give you a clue about the quality of life in the state.
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I haven't been to 45 states, but have been to 27/50.
On a median household income basis - The broad thesis still holds though that Canadian incomes are lower and costs of living are higher.
Ontario would rank low 30s among US States combined on median household income while having a cost of living among the highest of US states. Alberta would rank 15th and be medium tier for cost of living.