Study Reveals the States Spending the Largest Share of Their Paycheck on Their Wardrobe – Michigan Ties for 14th

Photo by Gustavo Fring

Article courtesy of Lusso Leather. 

• Michigan is tied for 14th nationally, with residents spending 2.44% of their take-home pay on clothing and footwear, 5.2% above the national average
• Michigan spends a bigger share of take-home pay on clothing than all three of its neighbors, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, which all fall below the national average
• Mississippi takes the top spot nationally, with residents spending 2.83% of their take-home pay on clothing and footwear, and Alaska sits at the bottom at 1.70%

A new study has revealed which states are spending the highest and lowest share of their paychecks on their wardrobe, with Michigan tied for 14th place.

The study, conducted by leather jacket experts at Lusso Leather, examined the most recent data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on personal consumption and income, and compared this to the average disposable income among residents of each state to determine where in the US people spend the highest share of their earnings on their wardrobe.

Across all 50 states, the average share of take-home income spent on clothing and footwear is 2.32%.

Michigan findings

Michigan is tied with Hawaii and Texas for 14th in the country, with Michiganders putting 2.44% of their take-home pay into clothing and footwear, 5.2% above the national average. People in the state spend $1,390 each per year on their wardrobe out of an average income of $56,984 after tax.

Michigan ranks second across the 12 states of the Midwest, behind only Illinois (2.68%), and the two are the only Midwestern states in the national top 15.

The state ranks 30th on raw dollars spent and has the 11th-lowest take-home income of any state, so a mid-range clothing budget becomes an above-average share of pay.

Clothing spend per person in Michigan has risen 31.9% since 2017 in cash terms, the ninth-fastest rise of any state.

The states spending the biggest share of take-home pay on clothing

How Michigan compares with its neighbors

Michigan leads all three of its neighbors, and each of them spends less than the national average of 2.32%. Ohio comes closest at 2.30%, with Indiana on 2.28% and Wisconsin on 2.22%.

Hannan Hassan, CEO of Lusso Leather, has commented:

“The states that spend the biggest share of their income on clothes are not the ones earning the most as you may expect. Mississippi has the lowest average take-home income in the country at $47,832 per person, yet it leads the nation in percentage of income spent on clothing. Connecticut has the highest average take-home pay at $80,695, yet ranks in the bottom five states, among those spending the smallest portion of their earnings on clothing.

“A household in Mississippi choosing to put more of a smaller paycheck into its clothes could mean a deliberate decision about the quality of the pieces they choose. The best way to judge whether an item of clothing is expensive is to divide its price by the number of times you will wear it to determine your cost per wear.

“For example, a high-quality leather jacket at $400 worn twice a week for five years costs you well under a dollar per wear, while a $90 one that cracks and gets replaced every winter costs you much more over the same stretch, and is also worse for the environment.

“A quality leather jacket is not bought once a season, it is bought once a decade, and the surface actually improves as it wears in. That’s the difference between a piece you replace and a piece you keep, and cost per wear is the only number that shows it.

“The best-value piece in your closet is the one you reach for without thinking. Buy items that fit properly in a material that lasts, wear it until it has long since earned its money back, and you will spend less on clothes over a lifetime by spending more carefully at first purchase.”

 Sources:

Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Consumption Expenditures by State – https://www.bea.gov/data/consumer-spending/state

Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Income by State – https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income-by-state

Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional data downloads (tables SAPCE2, SAPCE3 and SAINC51) – https://apps.bea.gov/regional/downloadzip.cfm

US Census Bureau, Census Regions and Divisions of the United States – https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf

Methodology

Data was gathered from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on income and annual spending on clothing and footwear in each state. The figures cover 2024, the most recent year published, released on September 26, 2025.

The headline measure is clothing and footwear spending as a share of disposable income, the money people keep after tax. Each state’s clothing and footwear spending per person (SAPCE2, line 10, as published) is divided by its disposable personal income per person (SAINC51, line 51), with both measured on the same population base, so the spend and income figures shown for each state divide to give the share shown.

Disposable income reflects what people can actually choose to spend, from every source, so a modest paycheck and a large one are compared fairly.

The national average of 2.32% is the average of the 50 state shares. Each state’s difference from it is calculated from the figures shown, as a percentage of the national average: Michigan’s 2.44% sits 5.2% above it.

States are ranked from the biggest share of take-home pay to the smallest. Ranks use the figures shown, to two decimal places, and tied states share a rank, with the next state taking the next number.

The District of Columbia is excluded from the rankings, as it is a federal district rather than a state.

Neighboring states are those sharing a land border with Michigan.

Changes since 2017 compare the Bureau’s published clothing and footwear spending per person for 2017 and 2024 in cash terms, without adjusting for inflation.

Regions follow the US Census Bureau’s definitions.

Full ranking: Share of take-home pay spent on clothing in all 50 states