Just scrolled through some state economic data and it's wild how different wealth distribution looks across America. Everyone talks about California and New York having massive GDPs - California's sitting at 3.6 trillion, New York at 2.53 trillion - but the actual income and poverty metrics tell a different story when you dig deeper.

Like, Maryland has the highest median income at over 91k, but California's at 84k despite having way more total economic output. And some of the richest states by GDP like Texas and New York actually have higher poverty rates (14% and 13.5%) compared to places like Utah and New Hampshire which are closer to 8-9%. Interesting contrast.

The Northeast and West Coast definitely dominate the top rankings - Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey all up there with median incomes pushing 83-90k. But if you're looking at the actual richest states in America by different metrics, you gotta look beyond just GDP. Alaska and North Dakota showing solid median incomes too, which surprises people.

Makes you think about what 'richest' actually means - total economic output, per capita income, or overall prosperity? The data's from 2023 so it's a couple years old now, but the wealth distribution patterns probably haven't shifted that dramatically. Curious what the updated rankings would look like with 2025-2026 figures.