Median incomes

The anti rednecks will tell us the poverty is concentrated in the old South.  But the old South is really about four states near Louisiana and Alabama.  Yes, a bit poor, but this map neglects relative cost of living.

Virginia has been rebuilt about twice since the civil war. Texas was never really part of the old South, nor did Florida make the grade.

I come from poor country,but still almost green.  But California housing still makes for a lower standard of living.

All of the North East seem relatively better off, if you ignore the bitter freezing winters which are extremely costly.  The there are some sparsely parts of the west in real poverty, except no one is there except a few small towns and campers.  But, with the exception of California, what do we see? The farther south, the more comfortable the weather, the one dominant part of the map. That makes a poor life a bit nicer.  California is the exception because of the second factor, coastal access to ports.  We can see that in Texas, Louisiana and some of Florida. Florida is dominated by the entitlement trade.