18. Illinois
> Median household income: $59,588
> Population: 12,859,995 (5th highest)
> 2015 Unemployment rate: 5.9% (12th highest)
> Poverty rate: 13.6% (23rd lowest)
High median incomes and a low poverty rate demonstrate how Illinois has one of the most equitable income distributions in the country. Statewide, homes were valued relatively low, at just $180,300, or more than $10,000 below the national benchmark of $194,500. Illinois’s relatively high education attainment rate partly accounts for high incomes in the area. More than 32.9% of adults had at least a bachelor’s degree last year, compared to 30.6% nationally.