I’ve just updated (December 2016) my salient household income comparison of California vs. hated Texas. My original figures were from 2009. Since then it’s gotten even better — for Texas.
According to recent U.S. census figures I can find, the 2015 median household income in California is significantly higher than Texas.
CA — $64,500
TX — $55,653 — 13.5% less than CA (vs. 18.1% less in 2009). TX is only $122 below the national average of $55,775.
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/acsbr15-02.pdf
But compared to the national average cost of living figure, the California cost of living (3rd quarter 2016) is 35.9% higher than the national average, while the Texas COL is 9.3% LOWER than the national average.
https://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/index.stm
Thus, ADJUSTED FOR THE COST OF LIVING, the Texas median household income is significantly higher than California.
TX — $61,360
CA — $47,461
BOTTOM LINE: Texas COL-adjusted median household income is 29.3% higher than California.