Income Growth by State

Inland states, particularly those west of the Mississippi enjoyed the fastest personal income growth for the year ended March, California, with income growth of 3.2%, ranked 40th. In fact, the 15 states with the slowest growth in personal incomes are on or near the East Coast, except for California. These states tend to be densely populated and account for nearly 50 percent of the nation’s personal income. All had declines in construction payrolls and coastal states suffered from military spending cutbacks. The states with the fastest growing incomes have few large urban areas and have had rapid growth in payrolls in construction and private service-type industries.

TOP

Total Annual income percentage in change billions 1. Idaho 7.3% $17 2. Montana 6.3 13 3. Texas 6.3 313 4. Kentucky 6.2 60 5. South Dakota 6.2 12 6. Utah 6.0 27 7. Oregon 5.8 101 8. Mississippi 5.8 36 9. Colorado 5.7 68 10. Arkansas 5.6 37

BOTTOM

Total Annual income percentage in change billions 50. Rhode Island 1.0% $19 49. Delaware 1.7 14 48. Connecticut 2.2 86 47. Maryland 2.6 109 46. Massachusetts 2.6 140 45. New Hampshire 2.6 24 44. Virginia 2.7 128 43. New Jersey 2.7 200 42. South Carolina 2.9 56 41. Maine 2.9 22

Personal income is defined as income received from all sources, including wages and salaries, divided and interest, less contributions to Social Security and other social insurance programs. It is measured before deductions of income and other personal taxes and is not adjusted for inflation.

Source: Commerce Department