A $100 bill in Maine will buy you more — but not much more — than in any other state in New England, according to a new analysis of purchasing power across the country.
Specifically, $100 here buys $102.35 worth of stuff.
That’s according to 2013 Bureau of Economic Analysis data crunched by Tax Foundation. It’s based on something called Regional Price Parity — the relative value of money based on what you can buy in different places.
So if you have $100 here, you can effectively buy $102.35 worth of goods and services in a state that’s closer to the average — in this case, that would be states like Florida and Vermont. It generally means that prices are lower here than in the average state.
Incomes are higher in states like New York, which means prices are higher, and your money is generally worth less.
An extra $2.35 isn’t a huge deal, but it’s better than, say, Washington D.C., where $100 is only effectively worth $84.96.
So where is a hundo worth the most? Turns out it’s Mississippi, where it can buy you $115.21 worth of goods.
The hundred-dollar bill in Maine goes a little further than it did in 2012, when it was effectively worth $101.73.
Here’s Puff Daddy explaining the importance of $100:
[youtube=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNTBb1u6UGg”]
Featured homepage photo by Gisela Giardino on Flickr
