US States by GDP per capita: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP)
Countries by GDP per capita: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita)
In: 322
So there’s three things.
First:
GDP per capita isn’t really the number you should be looking at. That includes a lot of money that doesn’t make it into the hands of your average person and might not even make it into the hands of someone in the state itself in the first place.
What you want to look at is median income. For [Mississippi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_income#States_and_territories_ranked_by_median_household_income)that’s 45k for households. In [France](https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/macroeconomic/median-household-income-in-france-2010—2021-/), that number is 61k
A really extreme example of this is actually Ireland, on paper it;s GDP per capita is $125k but that’s because it acts as a tax haven. This means that a ton of massive global companies are headquartered there and all their revenue counts as GDP in Ireland, but almost all of the money gets sent overseas and your average Irish citizen gets very little out of that deal.
Second:
America has some of the worst social services in the developed world (probably *the* worst) this means that a poor person in the US will have a much, much worse quality of life than an “equally” poor person is basically any other developed country.
Third:
You probably haven’t seen a lot of the really poor rural places in France, you probably think of Paris and basically just Paris. So conceptually we are comparing the best France has to offer to probably the worst Mississippi has to offer. (this is much less important an the other two factors imo, but it’s worth noting)
Money generated in a particular place does not trickle down to the people who live in that place. I’d bet that these states allow massive corporations – like retail giants, oil and gas companies, etc. – to generate huge profits while paying employees poverty wages.
Two factors here.
First is that you don’t see much about the rural backwaters of France in US media, just their wealthy urban centers. This skews the perception of the country’s living standards.
Second is that GDP per capita and median household income are two different things. If the Pharaoh gets 50% of all the money and everyone else gets to split the remaining 50%, your median income is only half of the GDP per capita, so the population is considerably poorer than GDP would indicate.
GDP is not personal wealth. GDP is a measure of economic activity, not how much individual people have in property, investments, and cash.
France is richer than Spain, and both countries are richer in the north than in the south, to the point that that when you enter France from Spain you feel that you are actually entering a poorer country.
[This](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/11m6isp/median_household_income_in_uscanada_and_europe/jbhdggo/?context=3) might be the answer you’re looking for.
either way, GDP alone is far from sufficient to tell the whole story and bare in mind official GDP data are estimates and every country in the world has a informal/shadow economy that is not and cannot possibly be accurately counted by IMF, WB etc. and France’s informal economy is estimated (by QIES based in London) to be 13% of it’s official GDP, only 7% for Usa. Not a huge difference but still significant enough.
The United States is a very wealthy country. Even the smallest states have GDP’s higher than most countries.
The comparison isn’t fair. The cost to exist is a lot lower across the board in Europe. You need less money.
Think of it this way. You grow up in America. Now you go to college. You borrow $100k, now you have to make payments on that. You buy a car because you need one. There’s another $15k at much higher interest. You are taxed less, but you have to pay a separate tax for your social security, medicare, and you have to pay a lot more for your health insurance. In the end, your take home is less, and you have to service a huge debt.
In Europe, they have free (or almost free) education all the way. In fact, in the northern states, you are paid to go to college. Health insurance is either free or deeply discounted compared to the USA, but the quality is generally actually better. People have healthier lives overall there. You don’t need a car in most of Europe because public transit is exceptional. Its normal for the average German or French citizen to just not own a car.
You get to start at $0. Sure you pay more in taxes, but, once you factor in fica, ss, and health insurance, you are actually better off. The states compete for citizens as everyone is entitled to travel between states in the Schengen zone and live whereever they want. Competition breeds excellence. So each country tries to have better systems and infrastructure to attract people.
A bunch a wealthy people, especially retirees have been moving to Mississippi lately since the housing market is considerably cheaper and less driving traffic
This entire discussion is what Twain was talking about when he said “There are lies, Damned lies, and statistics”.
The capitol city of Mississippi does not have a functional water system. Regardless of the numbers on income, Mississippi is a third world nation when it comes to quality of life and public services. Black citizens of Mississippi can, on average, expect to be paid significantly less than whites citizens and have lower access to health care and other vital services.
The wealth generated by Mississippi’s GDP does not reach its citizens and its black citizens are especially isolated from any wealth generation.
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