When you travel to another country, you generally check to see how strong the dollar is against the local currency.
Yet even within the United States there's a lot of variation between what a buck will get you in one state versus another.
According to a new analysis by the Tax Foundation, the states where $100 is worth the most are Mississippi, Arkansas and South Dakota. Meanwhile, go to D.C., Hawaii or New York and you'll find that the same $100 gets spent the fastest.
The difference can be meaningful. For instance, someone who lives in Mississippi has a real purchasing power that is 36% greater than someone who lives in the nation's capital. Put another way, the Mississippi resident only needs to pull in $50,000 in after-tax income to the D.C. resident's $68,000 in order to have the same standard of living.
As the Tax Foundation acknowledges, more expensive states generally have higher salaries. You can afford to pay for pricier meals and clothing because you're making more at your job. Still, this isn't always the case.
Look at Nebraska and California. After adjusting for regional price differences, a Nebraskan who has roughly the same salary as a Californian actually has about $10,000 more in real earnings to spend.
Still, taxes are levied based on your income irrespective of your expenses, the Tax Foundation points out. If you're living in a state where things are more expensive or you're one of the record number of Americans shelling out more than 30% of their income on rent, you're still in the same tax bracket as someone dwelling in a cheaper state.
