You neglect to mention that those high income states also have the highest cost of living and the highest taxes. I've lived in Connecticut and Washington state, amongst others. I don't see the quality of life being better for what you pay out. For some reason some folks like to feel superior to others but from our point of view paying that kind of money in mortgages, taxes, pretty much everything in areas that often look blighted and have high crime isn't admirable. Not to mention some of those places have horrible weather. So sneer if you must, we're happy to be low on that yardstick.
Your response proves a point. You believe everything you read. Sure, in the biggest cities, in the wealthiest states, the cost of living is high because people WANT to live there. I live in California, in a smaller city, on 2/3 of an acre, in an area where homes sell between $100-200,000. Food is cheaper in Ca. than most states because it is grown here, and even if electricity/gas is a little higher, because the weather is great almost year round, I spend a lot less on utilities than when I lived in a couple of different red states in the midwest. Property taxes are low due to prop 13 from decades ago, I bet my property taxes are lower than your at 1% of purchase price, roads are well maintained, the environment is clean, crime is low, and people are friendly and tolerant. Labor is respected in the state- not just capital, and people in poverty get help when they need it, even if they aren't citizens.
Your 'knowledge' is dead wrong, but you believe what you've been told what to believe, and you do as instructed without even thinking about it. I gladly live in a state where the median income and education level is 50% higher than in the bottom tier of states, which are OVERWHELMINGLY red states, where they think like you.