Boy was I mistaken to think you had basic knowledge about comparative wealth levels between American states and European countries. "Some European countries often regarded as wealthy don't fare especially well by this measure, however. France, for example, lands between South Carolina and Louisiana, while Germany ranks below Florida. Southern Europe fares even more poorly with Italy ranking below Arkansas, and Spain below Mississippi. By this measure, if Italy were a US state, it would rank behind every state except Mississippi. " https://mises.org/wire/these-us-states-have-higher-incomes-nearly-every-european-country