MoneyRates.com has ranked Virginia the “Best State to Make a Living” in its annual study. Virginia jumped up from fourth place in 2011 to take the top spot in 2012 based on measurements in the four categories considered by MoneyRates.com: Average Income, which has increased over the past year; Cost of Living based on ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which slightly decreased; Unemployment Rate, which has decreased in Virginia; and State Income Tax, which has not increased under the McDonnell administration.
From the report:
1. Virginia (Adjusted average income: $43,677)
In jumping from fourth to first, Virginia improved its adjusted average income figure by $2,557. This year, Virginia enjoyed a best-of-both-worlds scenario in which its average income rose while its cost of living fell slightly. The state also saw its unemployment rate drop to 6.2* percent, which is well below the national average.
*While the report is impressed by Virginia’s previous drop to 6.2 percent unemployment, the new seasonally adjusted unemployment figures for January released just last week show an even greater drop in the state to 5.8 percent, a three-year low.
The rest of the top five included Washington, Texas, Illinois and Colorado. The ranking determined that Hawaii was the worst state to make a living, followed by Maine, Vermont, Mississippi and Montana.
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