Northwest Arkansas, Fort Smith metro post income gains in 2013

Of the eight metro areas in or connected to Arkansas, five had per capita personal income growth and three posted declines in 2013 compared to 2012. Only three Arkansas counties – Pulaski, Union and Arkansas –  in 2013 had per capita personal income above the national average of $44,765.

The figures, released Thursday (Nov. 20) by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, show that none of Arkansas’ metro areas posted per capita personal income above the national average. The state average was $36,698, just slightly above the $36,423 in 2012, and up above the $34,098 in 2011. The federal report provides the most recent data for U.S. per capita personal income changes in the U.S.

Following are the previous three years of per capita personal income in Arkansas and the U.S.
Arkansas
2013: $36,698 (0.75%)
2012: $36,423
2011: $34,089

United States
2013: $44,765 (1.27%)
2012: $44,200
2011: $42,332

The Missouri per capita personal income in 2013 was $40,663, up 1.75% over 2012. Oklahoma’s per capita personal income in 2013 was $41,861, up 1.11% compared to 2012.

Connecticut had the highest per capita personal income in 2013 with $60,658, and Mississippi had the lowest with $33,913.

ARKANSAS MOVES
Arkansas metro areas posting a decline in per capita personal income between 2012 and 2013 were Jonesboro (-0.44%), Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway (-0.51%), and Texarkana (-1.14%).

The Arkansas metro areas posting gains were Northwest Arkansas (2.37%), Memphis-West Memphis (0.87%), Pine Bluff (0.42%), Fort Smith (0.25%), and Hot Springs (0.05%).

While it may not be a surprise that the booming Northwest Arkansas economy had the biggest per capita personal income gain in 2013, most of the Arkansas counties with the highest per capita personal income are in the central, south and eastern parts of the state.

Top 10 Arkansas Counties (per capita personal income – 2013)
Pulaski: $47,854
Union: $47,139
Arkansas: $46,240
Saline: $41,159
Benton: $41,157
Sebastian: $40,934
Garland: $38,526
Cleburne: $37,809
Desha: $37,024
Cross: $36,786
Ashley: $36,634

No Arkansas metro areas had per capita personal income above the national average and only four (Northwest Arkansas, Hot Springs, Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Memphis-West Memphis) had personal income above the state average of $36,698.

ARKANSAS METRO DATA (First number in parenthesis is the rank among the 381 U.S. metro areas, and the second number is the rank in terms of percentage growth among the 381 areas between 2012 and 2013.)
Northwest Arkansas (225, 57)
2013: $37,863 (2.37% growth between 2013 and 2012))
2012: $36,985
2011: $34,430

Fort Smith metro (310, 328)
2013: $34,711 (0.25%)
2012: $34,622
2011: $32,791

Hot Springs (208, 342)
2013: $38,526 (0.05%)
2012: $38,506
2011: $35,497

Jonesboro (303, 364)
2013: $35,014 (-1.14%)
2012: $35,169
2011: $32,999

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway (114, 365)
2013: $42,753 (-0.51%)
2012: $42,976
2011: $40,301

Memphis-West Memphis (158, 263)
2013: $40,987 (0.87%)
2012: $40,630
2011: $38,552

Pine Bluff (335, 313)
2013: $33,494 (0.42%)
2012: $33,353
2011: $31,065

Texarkana (304, 373)
2013: $34,990 (-1.14%)
2012: $35,394
2011: $34,126

NATIONAL DATA
According to the BEA report, personal income grew in 2013 in 2,695 counties, fell in 390, and was unchanged in 28. On average, personal income rose 2% in 2013 in the metropolitan portion of the United States and rose 2.1% in the nonmetropolitan portion. The metropolitan and nonmetropolitan portions grew 5.3% and 4.4%, respectively, in 2012.

Per capita personal income for 2013 ranged from $17,536 in Telfair County, Ga., to $121,632 in New York County, N.Y.

Personal income, as defined by the BEA, is the income received by, or on behalf of, all persons from all sources: from participation as laborers in production, from owning a home or business, from the ownership of financial assets, and from government and business in the form of transfer receipts. It includes income from domestic sources as well as from the rest of the world.