At 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley in the Mojave Desert, California is the lowest point of elevation in the United States (and North America). Coincidentally, Death Valley is less than 85 miles from Mount Whitney, the highest point of elevation in the mainland United States. Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth, and in 1913 it was the location of the highest naturally occurring temperature ever recorded on Earth (although some meteorologists doubt its legitimacy). New Orleans Louisiana is the only other state where the lowest point of elevation was below sea level. This is in the city of New Orleans, on the Mississippi River Delta. Over half of the city (up to two-thirds) is located below sea level, and recent studies suggest that the city is sinking further - man-made efforts to prevent water damage or flooding are cited as one reason for the city's continued subsidence, as they prevent new sediment from naturally reinforcing the ground upon which the city is built. These factors were one reason why New Orleans was so severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - the hurricane itself was one of the deadliest in history, and it destroyed many of the levee systems in place to prevent flooding, and the elevation exacerbated the damage caused. Highest low points The lowest point in five states is over 1,000 feet above sea level. Colorado's lowest point, at 3,315 feet, is still higher than the highest point in 22 states or territories. For all states whose lowest points are found above sea level, these points are located in rivers, streams, or bodies of water.

The United States has an average elevation of roughly 2,500 feet (763m) above sea level, however there is a stark contrast in elevations across the country. Highest states Colorado is the highest state in the United States, with an average elevation of 6,800 feet (2,074m) above sea level. The 10 states with the highest average elevation are all in the western region of the country, as this is, by far, the most mountainous region in the country. The largest mountain ranges in the contiguous western states are the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Cascade Range, while the Appalachian Mountains is the longest range in the east - however, the highest point in the U.S. is Denali (Mount McKinley), found in Alaska. Lowest states At just 60 feet above sea level, Delaware is the state with the lowest elevation. Delaware is the second smallest state, behind Rhode Island, and is located on the east coast. Larger states with relatively low elevations are found in the southern region of the country - both Florida and Louisiana have an average elevation of just 100 feet (31m) above sea level, and large sections of these states are extremely vulnerable to flooding and rising sea levels, as well as intermittent tropical storms.

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At 20,310 feet (6.2km) above sea level, the highest point in the United States is Denali, Alaska (formerly known as Mount McKinley). The highest point in the contiguous United States is Mount Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California; followed by Mount Elbert, Colorado - the highest point in the Rocky Mountains. When looking at the highest point in each state, the 13 tallest peaks are all found in the western region of the country, while there is much more diversity across the other regions and territories.

Despite being approximately 6,500 feet lower than Denali, Hawaii's Mauna Kea is sometimes considered the tallest mountain (and volcano) on earth. This is because its base is well below sea level - the mountain has a total height of 33,474 feet, which is almost 4,500 feet higher than Mount Everest.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the mean household income for each of the five quintiles in California City, CA, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in mean household income across quintiles, offering valuable insights into income distribution and inequality.

Key observations

• Income disparities: The mean income of the lowest quintile (20% of households with the lowest income) is 10,251, while the mean income for the highest quintile (20% of households with the highest income) is 202,278. This indicates that the top earners earn 20 times compared to the lowest earners.
• *Top 5%: * The mean household income for the wealthiest population (top 5%) is 341,596, which is 168.87% higher compared to the highest quintile, and 3332.32% higher compared to the lowest quintile.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Income Levels:

• Lowest Quintile
• Second Quintile
• Third Quintile
• Fourth Quintile
• Highest Quintile
• Top 5 Percent

Variables / Data Columns

• Income Level: This column showcases the income levels (As mentioned above).
• Mean Household Income: Mean household income, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific income level.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for California City median household income. You can refer the same here

Severe drought across the Western United States has caused water levels at Lake Mead in Nevada to drop in recent decades. Since 1970, the lowest end of month water level of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam was recorded in July 2022, at ***** feet above sea level. This was also the lowest level since the 1930s, when the lake was formed by the Hoover Dam. Seven of the 10 lowest water levels recorded since 1970 were in 2022, while three were recorded in 2023. Lake Mead is considered at full capacity when water levels reach 1,220 feet above sea level, but it’s able to hold a maximum of 1,229 feet of water. The last time the lake approached this capacity was in the summer of 1983. Lake Mead, the largest artificial reservoir by volume in the United States, generates electricity and supplies drinking water to California, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Mexico.

In 2023, Washington, D.C. had the highest population density in the United States, with 11,130.69 people per square mile. As a whole, there were about 94.83 residents per square mile in the U.S., and Alaska was the state with the lowest population density, with 1.29 residents per square mile. The problem of population density Simply put, population density is the population of a country divided by the area of the country. While this can be an interesting measure of how many people live in a country and how large the country is, it does not account for the degree of urbanization, or the share of people who live in urban centers. For example, Russia is the largest country in the world and has a comparatively low population, so its population density is very low. However, much of the country is uninhabited, so cities in Russia are much more densely populated than the rest of the country. Urbanization in the United States While the United States is not very densely populated compared to other countries, its population density has increased significantly over the past few decades. The degree of urbanization has also increased, and well over half of the population lives in urban centers.

The highest city in the world with a population of more than one million is La Paz. The Capital of Bolivia sits ***** meters above sea level, and is more than 1,000 meters higher than the second-ranked city, Quito. La Paz is also higher than Mt. Fuji in Japan, which has a height of 3,776 meters. Many of the world's largest cities are located in South America. The only city in North America that makes the top 20 list is Denver, Colorado, which has an altitude of ***** meters.

California was the state with the highest resident population in the United States in 2024, with 39.43 million people. Wyoming had the lowest population with about 590,000 residents. Living the American Dream Ever since the opening of the West in the United States, California has represented the American Dream for both Americans and immigrants to the U.S. The warm weather, appeal of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, as well as cities that stick in the imagination such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, help to encourage people to move to California. Californian demographics California is an extremely diverse state, as no one ethnicity is in the majority. Additionally, it has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States. By 2040, the population of California is expected to increase by almost 10 million residents, which goes to show that its appeal, both in reality and the imagination, is going nowhere fast.

Lake Mead's water elevation at the end of April 2025 was ******* feet above sea level, a small decrease in comparison to the previous month. In July 2022, the reservoir reached the lowest monthly water level recorded since Lake Mead was first formed by the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. At full capacity, Lake Mead has a water level of 1,229 feet above sea level. Lake Mead nearing dead pool status Situated on the border of Arizona and Nevada, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is a crucial water source that provides drinking water to tens of millions of people in the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. However, experts have warned that if the lake continues to recede due to the severe droughts across the Southwestern United States, it will become a dead pool. This means that there will not be enough water for the Hoover Dam to produce hydropower or deliver water downstream to metropolitan centers. U.S. water resources are depleting With large swathes of western U.S. recently suffering from a megadrought, which is a period of prolonged drought that spans more than two decades, many other lakes have been severely depleted in recent years. Water levels of major reservoirs in California have fallen to all-time lows in recent years. California’s two largest reservoirs, Shasta Lake and Oroville Lake, were at less than half capacity in July 2022. However, in spring 2023 they were both mostly replenished due to more favorable environmental factors.