Per capita personal income growth in CNY lags behind U.S. average

Per capita personal income increased 4.9 percent nationwide in 2018, but growth was slightly slower across Central New York’s metropolitan areas, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Nov. 14.

The BEA defines per capita personal income as “an area’s personal income divided by its population.” The bureau provides personal-income data for metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), as well as at the county level.

Four of the primary MSAs in Central New York experienced gains in per capita personal income in 2018. Binghamton had the region’s highest rate of growth at 3.7 percent, which was 1.2 points behind the U.S. average. Utica–Rome posted the slowest growth with a 2.9 percent increase. In between those readings, the Syracuse metro area posted 3.6 percent growth in per capita personal income, while the Watertown–Fort Drum region had growth of 3.2 percent.

According to the BEA release, “The personal income estimates released [on Nov. 14] provide the first glimpse of personal income for 2018 in counties and metropolitan statistical areas. Real personal income for states, metropolitan areas, and state metropolitan and nonmetropolitan portions of the U.S. will be released on May 18, 2020.”