Who's the Richest of Them All?

New Census Bureau data seemed to restore Connecticut's longstanding status as the wealthiest state in the nation: it edged out New Jersey by $53 in median household income for 2003, after falling behind NJ the year before by $389.

According to the data, Connecticut's 2003 median household income, which included capital gains and all other household income, was $56,409 compared with $56,356 for New Jersey. New York, at $44,139, ranked 20th.

"We have alternative measures of income," said James W. Hughes, who is dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He warned against drawing simple conclusions from any of the numbers. "Another take on all of this is that higher income than the nation as a whole doesn't mean we're living in the lap of luxury," Mr. Hughes said. "Housing costs are so much higher that the cost of living actually cancels out that advantage."

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