It's The Fourth of July, and Britain Is Poor

We have left the United Kingdom in the economic dust.

Every single state in these United States has a higher median household income than the United Kingdom. 247 years after we declared independence, the UK has similar wealth to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It's a nice town, but that is deeply embarrassing for a nation that once ruled a fourth of the world.

This sucks, guys.

There are several states in this country that are punchlines. Those states are still richer than the United Kingdom. The median home in Washington D.C, a city known not long ago for crippling poverty and decline, makes twice as much as the UK's median household. Not a single postcode area in the United Kingdom can claim that. And Washington is far from the richest place in America.

Parts of this country, mostly in the South, are poorer than the United Kingdom. But there are also counties where the median household income is three times that of the UK. Nearly every major city has an outlying county or two with more than double the UK's wealth. Hundreds of miles of the Northeast Corridor - the original thirteen colonies - are better off than anywhere in their former empire.

Wyoming is a state that is famous for being empty, and its existence has been questioned by many. Everywhere in Wyoming is richer than nearly anywhere in the UK outside of the Southeast. The three state combination of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota - states not famed for their wealth - has no counties with less median household income than the UK. America's rust belt is nearly entirely blue on this map. Let's look at England and Wales.
I get why people hate the Southeast.


Yikes. England's Rust Belt, which can be harshly summarized as everything north of Milton Keynes, is straight red. In fact, almost everywhere is red, except for London and its outlying region. America's sharpest regional divide is nowhere near as brutal as this firm line. The entirety of Wales is below the UK's median household income. Compare the regions in red on this map to the areas of the United States in red, and it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Sorry, England. Especially sorry, Wales. Happy birthday, America. 🦅

US median household income by state and county data is Median Household Income (in 2021 dollars), 2017-2021, from the American Community Survey. England & Wales median household income by postcode area is Median Income 2017, from Plumplot, sourced from National Statistics. The median household income of the United Kingdom is set at £33,949 ($46,691) in 2021 Purchasing Power Parity, from GlobalData.

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