Sentence:  Determine for each State ( except the Virgin Islands , Guam and Puerto Rico , and , prior to 1962 , Alaska and Hawaii ) that percentage which bears the same ratio to 50 % as the particular State 's average per capita income bears to the average per capita income of the <WSD>U.</WSD> S. . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776