Human Development Index by US state and territory, and which countries are comparable

[Daco Celtic]

Australia is nearly the same size as the US geographically, but the US has probably 10x the arable land. Their main burden is their large black and brown populations dragging them down.

It's a little surprising that our HDI is higher than the highest US state, but then in 2023 maybe not.

Keep in mind we also have Asian areas lifting us up

SmartAsset: 10 Wealthiest Counties in U.S.
Rank/County Median Income Investment Income Median Home Value Overall Wealth Index
1. San Mateo County, CA $136,837 $149,818 $1,495,191 100.00
2. San Francisco, CA $126,187 $134,035 $1,272,795 96.91
3. Santa Clara County, CA $140,258 $90,292 $1,468,206 93.54
4. Marin County, CA $131,008 $142,305 $1,428,578 91.68
5. Nantucket, MA $116,571 $96,756 $2,439,428 88.02
6. New York County, NY $93,956 $240,895 $1,174,530 80.90
7. Teton County, WY $94,498 $437,754 $1,624,087 76.31
8. Falls Church City, VA $155,071 $46,711 $957,075 72.89
9. Alameda County, CA $112,017 $38,318 $1,067,823 72.07
10. Dukes County, MA $77,392 $70,387 $1,379,576 68.61

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/...ay-area-study/
The title is actually wrong, it's 5 counties not 4 in the Bay Area

[Tooting Carmen]

Australia is nearly the same size as the US geographically, but the US has probably 10x the arable land. Their main burden is their large black and brown populations dragging them down.

You say that, but then I remember ages ago Portuguese user Cernunnos posted a video about homelessness in California, and what surprised me was how many of the homeless were White. While there is undeniably a link between race and social class in the US (though it is certainly more nuanced than many on both the Left and the Right claim), nevertheless the White underclass there is far from negligible. (For that matter, the Black and Hispanic middle-classes are bigger than many acknowledge too).

It's a little surprising that our HDI is higher than the highest US state, but then in 2023 maybe not.

Yes I'll admit to being more than a little surprised by that too. That said, nowadays there is a lot of talk of British doctors emigrating to Australia in particular, because the salaries and working conditions are a lot better.

[Creoda]

You say that, but then I remember ages ago Portuguese user Cernunnos posted a video about homelessness in California, and what surprised me was how many of the homeless were White. While there is undeniably a link between race and social class in the US (though it is certainly more nuanced than many on both the Left and the Right claim), nevertheless the White underclass there is far from negligible. (For that matter, the Black and Hispanic middle-classes are bigger than many acknowledge too).

I don't deny they have a large White underclass, lots of wealth inequality and worse health, partly because of the lack of welfarism. But I reckon the main reason they have lower HDI than Australia & NW Europeans is because of racial demographics. If 14% of our population were Aboriginal we'd have a lower HDI too - and not because of racism.

[Tooting Carmen]

I don't deny they have a large White underclass, lots of wealth inequality and worse health, partly because of the lack of welfarism. But I reckon the main reason they have lower HDI than Australia & NW Europeans is because of racial demographics. If 14% of our population were Aboriginal we'd have a lower HDI too - and not because of racism.

I would say it is a reason, but not necessarily the main one. As a matter of fact, ages ago I opened a thread with a list of Black and Hispanic-majority cities in the US where education and income levels were above average.

[Tooting Carmen]

I would say it is a reason, but not necessarily the main one. As a matter of fact, ages ago I opened a thread with a list of Black and Hispanic-majority cities in the US where education and income levels were above average.

Here is the thread: https://www.theapricity.com/forum/sh...-ABOVE-average
And even in the UK, some areas which are majority South Asian are actually wealthier and better-educated than average too: https://www.theapricity.com/forum/sh...ucation-levels

[gixajo]

I'm content with a Luxembourg level of development.

And me with a Canada or Liechtenstein level of development (I actually don't believe it at all.)

[nittionia]

Some parts of NY feel like Haiti

[Tooting Carmen]

Australia is nearly the same size as the US geographically, but the US has probably 10x the arable land. Their main burden is their large black and brown populations dragging them down.

It's a little surprising that our HDI is higher than the highest US state, but then in 2023 maybe not.

Interestingly, Tasmania is the lowest-ranked state in Australia in terms of HDI, and still its score is exactly the same as the overall US score: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...elopment_Index

Furthermore, Auckland is the second-highest ranked region of New Zealand, and still its score is exactly the same as the overall Australia score, while Bay of Plenty is the ninth-highest ranked region and its score is exactly the same as the overall US score: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...elopment_Index