You're holding in your hand a crisp, new $100 bill. If you want to get the most for your money, spend in Mississippi, where $100 will buy you items that would cost $115.21 in a state that is closer to the national average.

Using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Tax Foundation figured out the real value of $100 in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The states in which $100 is worth the most are Mississippi, Arkansas, South Dakota, Alabama and West Virginia. The states in which $100 is worth the least are the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey and California.

What $100 is worth in each state from greatest purchasing power to least:

  1. Mississippi: $115.21
  2. Arkansas: $114.29
  3. South Dakota: $114.16
  4. Alabama: $114.03
  5. West Virginia: $113.12
  6. Kentucky: $112.23
  7. Missouri: $112.11
  8. Ohio: $111.61
  9. Oklahoma: $111.23
  10. Iowa: $110.74
  11. Nebraska: $110.50
  12. South Carolina: $110.50
  13. Tennessee: $110.38
  14. Kansas: $110.13
  15. Louisiana: $109.65
  16. Indiana: $109.41
  17. North Dakota: $109.41
  18. North Carolina: $109.05
  19. Georgia: $108.81
  20. Idaho: $107.76
  21. Wisconsin: $107.64
  22. Michigan: $106.16
  23. Montana: $105.93
  24. New Mexico: $105.26
  25. Wyoming: $104.38
  26. Texas: $103.41
  27. Arizona: $102.99
  28. Utah: $102.88
  29. Minnesota: $102.46
  30. Maine: $102.35
  31. Rhode Island: $101.94
  32. Nevada: $101.83
  33. Pennsylvania: $101.42
  34. Oregon: $101.32
  35. Florida: $101.21
  36. Vermont: $99.80
  37. Illinois: $99.01
  38. Delaware: $98.62
  39. Colorado: $97.85
  40. Virginia: $97.09
  41. Washington: $96.90
  42. New Hampshire: $94.93
  43. Alaska: $94.34
  44. Massachusetts: $93.20
  45. Connecticut: $92.17
  46. Maryland: $90.17
  47. California: $89.05
  48. New Jersey: $87.34
  49. New York: $86.73
  50. Hawaii: $86.06
  51. District of Columbia: $84.96

Bottom line: "Regional price differences are strikingly large; real purchasing power is 36 percent greater in Mississippi than it is in the District of Columbia," according to the Tax Foundation. "In other words: By this measure, if you have $50,000 in after-tax income in Mississippi, you would have to have after-tax earnings of $68,000 in the District of Columbia just to afford the same overall standard of living."

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