Economic Opportunity Rankings

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. According to a 2019 report from the department, about 1 in 9 American households suffered from food insecurity between 2017 and 2019. Rates were highest in Mississippi and lowest in New Hampshire.

The Gini index, developed more than a century ago, is the most common measure of income inequality among households, with zero representing total income equality and 1 representing total inequality. In tracking the index, the U.S. Census Bureau reported its most recent findings from its 2019 surveys. Utah stood out as the state with the lowest Gini index, 0.43, which made the state's households closer to income equality than other states. New York had the highest index – 0.51 – and, therefore, the greatest income inequality.

The median annual household income in the United States in 2019 was $65,712, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Maryland ranks No. 1, with a median household income of $86,738, while Mississippi is last, at $45,792.

In 2019, estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey show that 12.3% of people in the United States – an estimated 34 million individuals – were living in poverty. Poverty rates correspond heavily with median household income in states, with New Hampshire having the lowest estimate poverty rate at 7.3% and Mississippi with the highest, at 19.6%.