Blue States Barack Obama Won in 2012 Have More Rich Than Red States
States that voted for Democrat Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election have, on average, a higher percentage of households that make 150,000 per year, and a lower percentage of households that make 25,000 or less per year, than the red states that supported Republican Mitt Romney, according to U.S. Census data collected by research engine FindTheBest. , The data shows that the percentage of households in blue states that make over 150,000 per year11is slightly above the national average of 9.4. Blue states also account for all but one of the top 17 states by percentage of households in the highest income bracket, with Alaska 12.8 being the only red state to make the list. Red states, on the other hand, fall slightly below the national average, at 6.9, and account for all but one Maine, 5.6 of the bottom 12 states by percentage of households making at least 150,000 per year. So which states have the most and least households making 150,000? , The highest earner is D.C.a blue district, not a statewhere 20 percent of households make over 150,000 per year. One secret to D.C.'s high income might be its high concentration of well-educated individuals, where 53 of the population holds a bachelor's degree, well above the national average of 28. Ranking in spot two is New Jersey, where 18 of households make over 150,000 per year. Once you factor in the cost of living however, those high incomes don't sound quite as lofty. 68 of homeownerscompared to the national average of 32spend more than 2,000 in homeowner costs per month. At the bottom of the list is West Virginia, where only 3.9 of households are in the highest bracket. It's also dead last for well-being out of all 50 states, according to the 2013 Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index. Scroll over any state in the map below to find the percentage of households in the 150,000 or higher income bracket. , FindTheBest also crunched the numbers for percentage of households making below 25,000 per year. , States that voted blue ranked better than red states for percentage of households making 25,000 or less per year 21.6 vs. 25.9 putting blue states 1.7 percentage points below the national average of 23.3, and red states 2.6 percentage points above it. Additionally, whereas the highest earning states were almost completely blue, the lowest earning states are almost completely redNew Mexico with 28.3 making 25,000 or less being the only blue state among the 14 lowest earners. As for the poorest states?, West Virginia comes close to ranking the most poorly again, with 32 of households making less than 25,000, but Mississippi also ranking poorly on the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index, in 48th place outpaces it, at 34. To see the percentage for every state, scroll over the map below.