These 3 US States Have The Lowest Median Salaries

Per the United States Census Bureau 2024 American Community Survey, the overall median salary for the U.S. is $67,702 per year. The states with the highest median salaries in order of highest to lowest are Washington, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, the latter being $102,970 per year. On the other end of the equation, you have three states — Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi — where the median salaries for each range from just under $52,000 on the high end, to just over $50,000 annually. 

According to Debt.org, U.S. household debt in 2025 soared to $18.20 trillion, representing an $4.6 trillion increase from 2019. Credit cards, auto loans, and student loans are all part of the problem, with mortgage debt topping the list with $12.8 trillion, leading many Americans to learn what it means to be house poor. While social determinants including race, gender, and age factor into the problem, household income, or your salary, has a huge impact on your ability to hold or cover debt. Annually, if you earn less than $20,000 or over $90,000 per year you're less likely to have credit card debt — in the latter case, even if you hold an average balance of $11,200, your ability to manage it is easier than someone earning $20,000 per year with a $3,630 balance. 

At the higher end of the three states is Oklahoma. As per the United States Census Bureau, the median salary in Oklahoma is $51,676, which is concerning if you pay attention to a SmartAsset study of salaries needed to live comfortably in each state. According to the study, it would require $84,282 for a single person to live comfortably in Oklahoma in 2025, or $208,749 per year for a four person household. While it's true that Oklahoma is a cheap vacation spot in the U.S. for hotel stays, based on this information, living there may not be as easy on the median salary. This may be contradictory according to RentCafe, with an average cost of living 9% lower than the national. However, living in a city like Tulsa raises the cost of living to 9% above the state average, and just 1% lower than the national average. Other locations including Norman, Ada, and Enid, OK also reveal costs of living anywhere from 2% to 8% higher than the state average.

According to the Truth in Accounting 2025 Financial State of the States study, debt is one thing Oklahoma has less to worry about. The state is in a position to cover its debts thanks to a taxpayer surplus of $5.7 billion, or the equivalent surplus of $5,000 per Oklahoman. So while the median salary in Oklahoma leaves something to be desired, the lower tax burden is a plus. 

While Arkansas is one of the cheapest states to live in, according to SmartAsset, it may still cost a single person $81,078 per year. That's almost $30,000 shy of what the United States Census Bureau found is the median salary of $50,899 per year. However, Arkansas can still boast the second lowest cost of living in the U.S., and as per RentCafe, the total cost of living in the state is 4% lower than the national average — reflected in groceries, utilities, housing, and transportation, but not healthcare or miscellaneous products and services. Where the latter two are concerned, healthcare costs are 1% higher than the national average, while products and services like clothing or entertainment are 13% higher than the national average. Like the previous state, Arkansas' cost of living shifts with the landscape, with cities like Hot Springs and Paragould raising the cost of living to 9% and 6% above the national average, respectively.

Looking at the financial state of Arkansas, where debt is concerned Arkansas earns top grades from Truth in Accounting, with a surplus of $5.4 billion or a taxpayer surplus of $6,200 for every citizen of the state. If you live on the median salary however, choose your location carefully. 

According to the United States Census Bureau, Mississippi earns the distinction of having the lowest median salary in the U.S., coming in at just $50,120 per year. In terms of income needed to live comfortably, SmartAsset ranks Mississippi as the ninth lowest out of 50 states, estimating an individual would need to $86,320 annually to do so — a family of four would need a household income of $186,618 to achieve this. If the previous states on this list prove nothing else, factors like location matter immensely.

RentCafe places the overall cost of living in Mississippi at 10% lower than the national average. The five largest cities fall below the national average, with costs of living ranging from 10% to 17% below. That said, Meridian, and the state capital Jackson, MS, are both on par with the state average, which may explain why one may still require $86,320 to live comfortably in one of the 10 least expensive states to live in. As the state with the lowest average income, it's also one of the most affordable states in America that doesn't tax Social Security. As per Thomson Reuters, Mississippi's governor signed a bill in March 2025 that lowers individual income tax in the state to 3% by 2030 — with an eventual target of 0%. Ironically, according to Truth in Accounting, the state is also $6.6 billion in debt, representing a tax burden of $8,600 per taxpayer.