In 2021, the per capita income in San Francisco city was at 80,383 U.S. dollars. San Francisco was followed in this regard by Seattle and Washington, D.C. The most populated cities in the U.S. are ranked by per capita income in this statistic. While New York, New York had the highest population, San Francisco had the highest per capita income in 2021. The median household income in San Francisco in 2020 was 119,136 dollars, the highest among the most populated cities in the United States.

In 20212, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area in California had the highest per capita income at 64,169 U.S. dollars. The second highest, San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area is also located in California.

Out of all 50 states, New York had the highest per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, at 90,730 U.S. dollars, followed closely by Massachusetts. Mississippi had the lowest per-capita real GDP, at 39,102 U.S. dollars. While not a state, the District of Columbia had a per capita GDP of more than 214,000 U.S. dollars. What is real GDP? A country’s real GDP is a measure that shows the value of the goods and services produced by an economy and is adjusted for inflation. The real GDP of a country helps economists to see the health of a country’s economy and its standard of living. Downturns in GDP growth can indicate financial difficulties, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the U.S. GDP decreased by 2.5 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on U.S. GDP, shrinking the economy 2.8 percent. The U.S. economy rebounded in 2021, however, growing by nearly six percent. Why real GDP per capita matters Real GDP per capita takes the GDP of a country, state, or metropolitan area and divides it by the number of people in that area. Some argue that per-capita GDP is more important than the GDP of a country, as it is a good indicator of whether or not the country’s population is getting wealthier, thus increasing the standard of living in that area. The best measure of standard of living when comparing across countries is thought to be GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) which uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of a countries currency.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Colorado for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Missouri for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Iowa for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Michigan for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Connecticut for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Ohio for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Oklahoma for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in West Virginia for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Minnesota for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Kentucky for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

As of 2024, three out of ten Latin American and Caribbean cities with the highest local purchasing power were located in Mexico. With an index score of 51.3, people in Querétaro had the highest domestic purchasing power in Mexico. In South America, the city with the highest domestic purchasing power for 2024 was Montevideo, scoring 53 index points.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Illinois for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Alabama for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Idaho for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

In 2022, San Francisco had the highest median household income of cities ranking within the top 25 in terms of population, with a median household income in of 136,692 U.S. dollars. In that year, San Jose in California was ranked second, and Seattle, Washington third.

Following a fall after the great recession, median household income in the United States has been increasing in recent years. As of 2022, median household income by state was highest in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Utah, and Massachusetts. It was lowest in Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas. Families with an annual income of 25,000 and 49,999 U.S. dollars made up the largest income bracket in America, with about 25.26 million households.

Data on median household income can be compared to statistics on personal income in the U.S. released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income rose to around 21.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, the highest value recorded. Personal income is a measure of the total income received by persons from all sources, while median household income is “the amount with divides the income distribution into two equal groups,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Half of the population in question lives above median income and half lives below. Though total personal income has increased in recent years, this wealth is not distributed throughout the population. In practical terms, income of most households has decreased. One additional statistic illustrates this disparity: for the lowest quintile of workers, mean household income has remained more or less steady for the past decade at about 13 to 16 thousand constant U.S. dollars annually. Meanwhile, income for the top five percent of workers has actually risen from about 285,000 U.S. dollars in 1990 to about 499,900 U.S. dollars in 2020.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Arkansas for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.

A dataset listing the 20 richest cities in Montana for 2024, including information on rank, city, county, population, average income, and median income.