states appears closer to the level of living standards in the richest state, Connecticut, than the difference in their per-capita income levels would imply. In particular, their measure highlights that high-income states benefit from higher life expectancy, consumption, and college attainment, while low-income states benefit from lower cost of living. The state with the highest living standards according to their measure is Minnesota. Finally, Falcettoni and Nygaard conclude by analyzing whether and how living standards have been rising across the United States between 1999 and 2015. They find that every state has experienced a rise in living standards, but that states differ significantly in how fast their living standards are rising. They find that the main reason for the difference in how fast living standards are rising across the United States is due to varying gains in life expectancy, consumption, and college attainment in the different states. This is a cautionary tale for economists using per-capita income growth as a proxy for how fast living standards are rising in any given state in the United States. In fact, Falcettoni and Nygaard find that per-capita income growth is only weakly correlated with how fast living standards are rising and deviations can be significantly large. International rankings Social class Standard of living in the United States varies considerably with socio-economic status. The table below gives a summarization of prominent academic theories on the socio-economic stratification of the United States: See also Affluence in the United States Poverty in the United States Personal income in the United States Household income in the United States Federal assistance in the United States Male-female income disparity in the USA Social class in the United States General: Gross domestic product International ranking of household income Economy of the United States Human Development Index References Economy of the United States United States Society of the United States Wealth in the United States