I'm not sure your mental model holds. A lot of Europe has higher standards of living than the USA. And a lot of Asian countries have made huge strides in the last few decades. Also consider the difference between Mississippi and Massachusetts. I wouldn't say that anyone gainfully employed in Mississippi is "rich beyond the world's wildest dreams".
Which even "poorest in Mississippi" is above - but that factoid is entirely useless to basically everyone, and frankly insulting to our poor family in Mississippi.
Mississippi's HDI is 0.868, which puts it lower than about 25% of countries of the world. So neither poor, nor rich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Dev...