@writersroom.boardwalkThe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just dropped hourly earnings for every state, and the spread from top to bottom is huge. Washington leads the pack at $44.15, with Massachusetts close behind at $43.45 and California at $42.56. Connecticut and Hawaii both cross the $40 mark, hitting $40.22 and $40.07. The rest of the list runs from New York at $40.03 down through a long middle stretch that includes Colorado, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, Alaska, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Hampshire, Illinois, Arizona, North Dakota, Utah, Florida, Vermont, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana, Delaware, Wyoming, South Carolina, Nevada, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Alabama, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, New Mexico, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, and Arkansas, with rates ranging from roughly $38.76 to $28.98. At the bottom sits Mississippi, which reported the lowest figure at $28.98.

@writersroom.boardwalkThe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just dropped hourly earnings for every state, and the spread from top to bottom is huge. Washington leads the pack at $44.15, with Massachusetts close behind at $43.45 and California at $42.56. Connecticut and Hawaii both cross the $40 mark, hitting $40.22 and $40.07. The rest of the list runs from New York at $40.03 down through a long middle stretch that includes Colorado, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, Alaska, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Hampshire, Illinois, Arizona, North Dakota, Utah, Florida, Vermont, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana, Delaware, Wyoming, South Carolina, Nevada, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Alabama, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, New Mexico, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, and Arkansas, with rates ranging from roughly $38.76 to $28.98. At the bottom sits Mississippi, which reported the lowest figure at $28.98.