Best and worst states to make a living

DETROIT – If you look at America's economic landscape, it's easy to see all 50 states are not equal. Some states feature higher taxes, have a higher unemployment rate, or have a higher cost of living than others.

The website MoneyRates.com recently crunched the numbers on several key factors in each state to see which ones are the best places to make a living, and which states pose some big challenges for residents.

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Researchers looked at these five factors: Average wages, state tax rates, cost of living, unemployment rate, and incidents of workplace illness, injuries, and fatalities.

So, what did they find?

Texas moved up to No. 1 in this round of research, replacing Washington at the top. Those two were followed by Wyoming, Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Delaware, Ohio, and Utah. The top three states do not have state income tax, offer attractive employment options and have a favorable cost of living.

While Hawaii is a tropical paradise, it's also the state listed as the "worst place to make a living."

MoneyRates.com found the islands are a very expensive place to live, largely driven by housing costs. While the average income in Hawaii is $46,230 (on par with the rest of the nation) once you adjust for taxes and the cost of living, workers in Hawaii earn a value of just $0.55 for every $1 they make.

Other "worst" states include Oregon, Maine, West Virginia and Vermont.

The complete list is on MoneyRates.com's website here.