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<p>The Value of a Dollar in Every State<br>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/05/13/the-value-of-a-dollar-in-every-state/">http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/05/13/the-value-of-a-dollar-in-every-state/</a>
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<p>While a dollar bill looks and feels the same all over the
United States, its value is often very different depending on
where it is used.</p>
<p>The prices of housing, food, and services, vary considerably
across the country. To highlight these differences, which
reflect the relative purchasing power of Americans, 24/7 Wall
St. calculated the value of a dollar in each state based on data
from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Compared to the national
average cost of goods and services, a single dollar goes the
furthest in Mississippi, where the cost of living is the lowest
of any state. A dollar in Mississippi is effectively worth
$1.15. By contrast, in Hawaii, the most expensive state, a
dollar is worth the least — only $0.86.</p>
<p>Income levels differ far more than costs of living between
states. In states with high incomes, a single dollar tends to be
worth less because of the often higher costs of living in those
states. In the 15 states where the dollar is worth the least —
that is, with the highest costs of living — the median annual
household income exceeds the national median of $53,657. In
low-income states, by contrast, a single dollar tends to go
relatively far. Mississippi, the state where a dollar goes the
furthest, has the highest poverty rate and lowest household
median income in the nation.</p>
<p><span style="color:#008000;"><strong><a
href="http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/05/13/the-value-of-a-dollar-in-every-state/2/"
style="color:#008000;">Click here to see the value of a
dollar in every state.</a></strong></span></p>
<p>In the five years through 2013, the value of a dollar increased
in every state — and nationwide. While this may sound positive,
the reasons for the higher dollar value were mostly related to
the housing crash. The states with the largest increases in the
value of a dollar also had among the largest median home price
drops between 2008 and 2013. California for example, where one
dollar is worth just $0.89, the median home value dropped by
more than 20% over that period. Because Americans spend far more
on housing than on goods and services, the housing market
collapse meant that component declined considerably, leaving
room for more purchases. While one dollar could therefore buy
more than it did before the housing collapse, a number of
Americans lost significant amounts of money through the
depreciation of their homes.</p>
<p>North Dakota is the only state that had a major increase in the
cost of housing, with median home prices rising by 38.1% between
2008 and 2013, likely caused by the state’s oil industry-related
economic boom. The housing cost increase in North Dakota bucked
the broader trend, and the value of one dollar in North Dakota
increased less than in any other state as a result.</p>
<p>To identify the states where a dollar is worth the most, 24/7
Wall St. calculated the relative price of a single dollar using
regional price parities (RPPs) in each state in both 2008 and
2013 — the latest year for which data are available — from the
Bureau of Economic Analysis. RPPs are expressed as an index of
the national average price level (100) for goods and services.
We also reviewed socioeconomic data, including median household
income, and poverty rates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014
American Community Survey.</p>
<p>These are the states with the highest value of one dollar.</p>
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<p><strong>20. Idaho<br>
> Value of a dollar:</strong> $1.08<br>
<strong>> Chg. in value of dollar 2008-2013:</strong> +10.3%
(3rd largest)<br>
<strong>> Median household income:</strong> $47,861 (14th
lowest)<br>
<strong>> Poverty rate:</strong> 14.8% (25th highest)</p>
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<p>Ken</p>
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