In Kentucky, a Benjamin is actually worth about $112, according to a recent release from the Tax Foundation.
Analyzing data from a recent report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Tax Foundation issued a map of the “real value of $100 in each state.”
Click here to see the entire map.
“Prices for the same goods are often much cheaper in states like Missouri or Ohio than they are in states like New York or California,” the report says. “As a result, the same amount of cash can buy you comparatively more in a low-price state than in a high-price state.”
In Mississippi, buyers can get the biggest bang for their buck, where $100 is worth $115.21. In contrast, $100 is worth least in the District of Columbia ($84.96), Hawaii ($86.06) and New York ($86.73).
The report says that states with higher incomes will have higher price levels, because in places with higher incomes the prices of finite resources, such as land, get bid up. However, places with high costs of living pay higher salaries for the same job – what economists call a “compensating differential.” The higher pay is offered in order to make up for the low purchasing power.
Some states, the report says, have high incomes without high prices. “Adjusting incomes for price level can substantially change our perceptions of which states are truly poor or rich.”
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