What can $100 buy you these days? Turns out, that question largely depends on where you live.
The relative value of $100 can vary by up to 35%, depending on what state and county you’re shopping in.
The tax foundation’s report ranks each state’s purchasing power of $100. North Carolina was ranked #18 in the nation and South Carolina was ranked #12 for the highest real value of $100.
| State | Real Value of $100 | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | $115.34 | 1 |
| Arkansas | $114.29 | 2 |
| Alabama | $113.90 | 3 |
| South Dakota | $113.64 | 4 |
| Kentucky | $112.74 | 5 |
| West Virginia | $112.49 | 6 |
| Ohio | $111.98 | 7 |
| Missouri | $111.86 | 8 |
| Oklahoma | $110.99 | 9 |
| Tennessee | $110.86 | 10 |
| Iowa | $110.74 | 11 |
| South Carolina | $110.50 | 12 |
| Nebraska | $110.38 | 13 |
| Kansas | $110.25 | 14 |
| Indiana | $109.41 | 15 |
| Louisiana | $109.41 | 16 |
| North Dakota | $109.29 | 17 |
| North Carolina | $109.05 | 18 |
| Georgia | $108.70 | 19 |
| Idaho | $107.07 | 20 |
| Wisconsin | $107.07 | 21 |
| Michigan | $106.27 | 22 |
| Montana | $106.16 | 23 |
| New Mexico | $105.26 | 24 |
| Wyoming | $103.95 | 25 |
| Arizona | $103.73 | 26 |
| Texas | $103.52 | 27 |
| Utah | $103.09 | 28 |
| Maine | $102.99 | 29 |
| Minnesota | $102.46 | 30 |
| Nevada | $102.35 | 31 |
| Pennsylvania | $101.83 | 32 |
| Rhode Island | $101.32 | 33 |
| Oregon | $101.01 | 34 |
| Florida | $100.91 | 35 |
| Illinois | $99.30 | 36 |
| Vermont | $98.81 | 37 |
| Delaware | $98.14 | 38 |
| Colorado | $98.04 | 39 |
| Virginia | $97.47 | 40 |
| Washington | $96.34 | 41 |
| New Hampshire | $95.06 | 42 |
| Alaska | $94.61 | 43 |
| Massachusetts | $93.37 | 44 |
| Connecticut | $91.91 | 45 |
| Maryland | $90.66 | 46 |
| California | $88.97 | 47 |
| New Jersey | $87.34 | 48 |
| New York | $86.43 | 49 |
| Hawaii | $85.62 | 50 |
| District of Columbia | $84.67 | — |
Several counties in North Carolina have an even higher purchasing power than the state of Mississippi at $116.70, while Charlotte’s metro area brings our state average down with a purchasing power of $106.80 as well as Raleigh’s metro with a purchasing power of $104.30. The Virginia Beach metro area (which crosses into North Carolina) had the lowest purchasing power in our state at $101.60.
South Carolina’s non-metro areas had the highest purchasing power in the nation at $119.90 (Mississippi’s non-metro areas have a purchasing power of $119.80).