2008 SEC Discussion

[TheIronColonel]

Well, I was planning on staying out of the emerging regionalist fight, but the other SEC posters put in an appearance, so... (1) It's foolish to rank states by raw median income without considering cost-of-living, state and local tax burdens, and so forth; these have real effects on wages and salaries paid in different regions. (2) The schools vary rather widely.

Fortunately, there are people who track this kind of data. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest data, the CPI (a reasonable indicator of cost-of-living) for the southeast region (which, according to the government, doesn't include Louisiana) is 210.108. The Midwest region (which doesn't include Pennsylvania) has a CPI of 206.019. The national average is 216.573.

So it's cheaper to live in the Southeast and Midwest than the national average, but more expensive to live in the Southeast than the Midwest. Yet the raw median income in the Southeast is less than in the Midwest. Pretty cut and dry.


Southeast Consumer Price Index Card
Midwest Consumer Price Index Card

The midwest isn't an economic powerhouse, but on this issue the WSJ makes a pretty good point.

 

[Steve19]

Fortunately, there are people who track this kind of data. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest data, the CPI (a reasonable indicator of cost-of-living) for the southeast region (which, according to the government, doesn't include Louisiana) is 210.108. The Midwest region (which doesn't include Pennsylvania) has a CPI of 206.019. The national average is 216.573.

So it's cheaper to live in the Southeast and Midwest than the national average, but more expensive to live in the Southeast than the Midwest. Yet the raw median income in the Southeast is less than in the Midwest. Pretty cut and dry.


Southeast Consumer Price Index Card
Midwest Consumer Price Index Card

The midwest isn't an economic powerhouse, but on this issue the WSJ makes a pretty good point.

Three decades ago, five decades ago, it would have been a very different picture. The industrial heartland would have placed the Midwest far above where it is today.