Thursday’s release of state income data from the American Community Survey (ACS) showed that the gradual improvement in state economies from 2013 to 2014 brought little change in overall economic conditions for households in most states. The ACS data showed a slight increase in median household income for the United States overall and similar modest increases in household incomes in a majority of states—although only a handful of these increases were statistically significant.

By and large, what little improvement in household incomes occurred tended to be in states where incomes were already relatively high or where the oil and gas boom has fueled growth. Higher income states in New England and the mid-Atlantic, as well as Washington state, experienced modest gains, while incomes elsewhere were essentially flat. Kentucky (-2.6 percent) was the only state where household incomes significantly fell.

After adjusting for inflation, the largest year-over-year percentage gains occurred in Maine (+3.6 percent), Washington (+3.4 percent), Connecticut (+2.7 percent), and Colorado (+2.5 percent). The District of Columbia (+4.3 percent), North Dakota (+4.2 percent), and Mississippi (+2.8 percent) also had relatively large increases, although these changes were not statistically significant.

Despite these increases, household incomes in most states are still well below their pre-recession levels. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma—where the oil and gas boom has been particularly pronounced – are the only three states where median household income was higher in 2014 than it was in 2007. (Median income in the District of Columbia was also higher than in 2007.)

Moreover, looking only to before the recession understates how long incomes have been stagnant. The lack of any real wage growth for over a decade has left households in 38 states with lower incomes in 2014 than in 2000. (The only states where median household income, adjusted for inflation, was higher in 2014 than in 2000 are: Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.)