Southern living conditions, unfit for 21st Century humanity

Poverty wages, under-education, poor health, apart from the more civilized enclaves in Florida and Texas. Arizona comes out looking somewhat better, by comparison:


Source
American life expectancy, education and earnings by state

Why do Southerners tolerate this situation, when they have the example of better functioning areas of the country to follow? You can't blame it on the subtropical climate: Just look at the maps of Texas and Florida.

It also supports my sense that the people in parts of the Pacific Northwest and New England live in a more advanced civilization than Southerners.