[dimondpark]

Top 50 US Metros ranked by Per Capita Personal Income, Released Aug 7, 2007 by The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Dept of Commerce.

But first, Congratulations to New Orleans, its increase is amazing.
53 New Orleans $38,343 +89.7%:banana:

Rank, Metropolitan Area, Per Capita Income, Annual Growth Rate
1 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT $71,901 +6.9%
2 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $55,801 +6.2%
3 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $53,533 +6.1%
4 Naples-Marco Island, FL $53,265 +7.6%
5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV $51,207 +5.2%
6 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA $50,085 +6.2%
7 Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL $49,305 +6.7%
8 Trenton-Ewing, NJ $48,964 +6.6%
9 New York-Northern-New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA $48,397 +6.9%
10 Boulder, CO $48,324 +5.4%
11 Napa, CA $46,286 +6.0%
12 Barnstable Town, MA $46,258 +5.2%
13 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA $45,849 +7.5%
14 Casper, WY $45,814 +10.5%
15 Midland, TX $45,274 +10.8%
16 Denver-Aurora, CO $44,299 +4.6%
17 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $44,228 +6.3%
18 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT $44,194 +4.3%
19 Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL $44,042 +5.9%
20 Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, MN $43,696 +3.8%
21 Baltimore-Towson, MD $43,549 +5.4%
22 Reno-Sparks, NV $43,209 +4.7%
23 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $42,988 +5.6%
24 San Diego-Carslbad-San Marcos, CA $42,797 +5.5%
25 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA $42,738 +5.7%
26 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA $42,385 +4.7%
27 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA $42,342 +4.9%
28 Manchester-Nashua, NH $41,895 +5.1%
29 Ocean City, NJ $41,651 +5.3%
30 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX $41,429 +5.7%
31 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI $41,161 +5.7%
32 New Haven-Milford, CT $41,094 +5.0%
33 Norwich-New London-CT $41,019 +4.4%
34 Madison, WI $40,671 +4.3%
35 Santa Fe, NM $40,500 +6.8%
36 Ann Arbor, MI $40,381 +1.7%
37 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI $40,316 +5.6%
38 Anchorage, AK $40,137 +4.5%
39 Carson City, NV $39,958 +5.4%
40 Cheyenne, WY $39,936 +8.7%
41 Miami-Ft Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL $39,628 +5.7%
42 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA $39,579 +4.9%
43 Pittsfield, MA $39,463 +5.0%
44 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA $39,448 +5.4%
45 Dallas-Ft Worth-Arlington, TX $39,187 +5.3%
46 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA $39,011 +6.2%
47 Worcester, MA $38,814 +5.3%
48 Pittsburgh, PA $38,717 +6.0%
49 Rochester, MN $38,715 +3.2%
50 Honolulu, HI $38,689 +5.1%

http://bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/mpi/mpi_newsrelease.htm

[arbeiter]

god look how low Honolulu is, that's got to be pretty bad considering the cost of living...

[Chicago3rd]

You do understand what has happened in New Orleans? The per capita didn't change...the people got moved out. Maybe if those who have moved in to rebuild plan on staying....I would look at that as somewhat encouraging. But the storm literally did an economic cleansing on the city.

[JMininger]

Interesting list, thank you.

I think what I'd really like to see is a list adjusted by cost of living. How much disposable income there is, basically. I think the list would look a lot different.

[VivaLFuego]

Interesting list, thank you.

I think what I'd really like to see is a list adjusted by cost of living. How much disposable income there is, basically. I think the list would look a lot different.

Offhand, I would guess Minneapolis looks real good if adjusted for purchasing power.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of "per capita" measures because they can be so easily skewed by extreme figures, imo Median Income gives a better idea of what a typical resident earns/produces (e.g. tons of poor people or some absurdly rich people will skew the numbers so that the mean/average/per capita is less meaningful, such as lots of the poor leaving New Orleans or rich NYC financial/corporate types living in Connecticutt)

[IdahoMountainBoy]

I find Casper and Cheyenne's high rankings perplexing...anyone have an explanation?

[JMininger]

Offhand, I would guess Minneapolis looks real good if adjusted for purchasing power.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of "per capita" measures because they can be so easily skewed by extreme figures, imo Median Income gives a better idea of what a typical resident earns/produces (e.g. tons of poor people or some absurdly rich people will skew the numbers so that the mean/average/per capita is less meaningful, such as lots of the poor leaving New Orleans or rich NYC financial/corporate types living in Connecticutt)

Yes, I didn't think of it when I responded but I agree that the list would be more informative if it used the median instead of per capita.

Does anybody know where the income figures come from and what they are composed of? Something more specific than "The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Dept of Commerce".

[Mister Brewski]

I'm pleasantly surprised to Pittsburgh on there, all I ever hear is how low the pay is in the area. Considering that LA is only about $300 higher and the cost of living in LA is not even the same ballpark as it is in Pitt makes things look even better. Pittsburgh also seems to be the only rust belt city on the list as well (maybe Milwaukee).

[dimondpark]

Offhand, I would guess Minneapolis looks real good if adjusted for purchasing power.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of "per capita" measures because they can be so easily skewed by extreme figures, imo Median Income gives a better idea of what a typical resident earns/produces (e.g. tons of poor people or some absurdly rich people will skew the numbers so that the mean/average/per capita is less meaningful, such as lots of the poor leaving New Orleans or rich NYC financial/corporate types living in Connecticutt)

good point.

Here is a ranking of Metro Areas by Median Household Income, 2007 by Freddie Mac.
Rank/ Metro Area/ Median Family Income, 2007

1 Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD $101,100
2 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $94,500
3 Nassau-Suffolk, NY $93,800
4 Fairfield County, CT $93,400
5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV $92,600
6 Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA $88,900
7 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA $86,500
8 Edison, NJ $85,600
9 Trenton-Ewing, NJ $84,900
10 Newark-Union, NJ-PA $83,200
11 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA $83,000
12 Boulder, CO $82,500
13 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA $81,300
14 Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI $80,900
15 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT $80,300
16 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA $79,500
17 Orange County, CA $78,700
18 Ann Arbor, MI $78,300
19 Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI $77,600
20 Manchester-Nashua, NH $77,300
21 Peabody, MA $77,200
22 Camden, NJ $76,900
23 Boston-Quincy, MA $76,900
24 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI $76,400
25 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY $76,400
26 Baltimore-Towson, MD $75,800
27 Napa, CA $75,800
28 Rockingham County-Stratfford County, NH $75,700
29 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA $75,600
30 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA $75,400
31 Anchorage, AK $74,800
32 Norwich-New London, CT $74,600
33 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA $74,500
34 Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ $73,900
35 Madison, WI $73,700
36 Honolulu, HI $73,500
37 Worcester, MA $72,800
38 New Haven-Milford, CT $72,600
39 Denver-Aurora, CO $71,400
40 Burlington-South Burlington, VT $70,600
41 Barnstable Town, MA $70,400
42 Raleigh-Cary, NC $69,800
43 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL $69,700
44 Fairbanks, AK $69,700
45 San Diego, CA $69,400
46 Austin-Round Rock, TX $69,300
47 Philadelphia, PA $69,200
48 Monroe, MI $68,700
49 Richmond, VA $68,700
50 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA $68,300
51 Ft Collins-Loveland, CO $68,200
52 Corvallis, OR $67,400
53 Sacramento-Arden Arcade-Roseville, CA $67,200
54 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA $67,100
55 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA $67,100
56 Albany-Schnectady-Troy, NY $66,300
57 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ $65,800
58 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA $65,700
59 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI $65,600
60 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA $65,600
61 Colorado Springs, CO $65,600
62 Ithaca, NY $65,400
63 Olympia, WA $64,300
64 Atlantic City, NJ $64,300
65 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA $64,200
66 Columbus, OH $64,200
67 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC $64,100
68 Reno-Sparks, NV $64,000
69 Lansing-East Lansing, MI $64,000
70 Lancaster, PA $64,000
71 Naples-Marco Island, FL $63,900
72 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA $63,800
73 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN $63,800
74 Springfield, IL $63,700
75 Reading, PA $63,600
76 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN $63,600
77 Kingston, NY $63,500
78 Salinas, CA $63,400
79 St Louis, MO-IL $63,300
80 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX $63,200
81 Ocean City, NJ $62,900
82 Pittsfield, MA $62,800
83 Ogden-Clearfield, UT $62,600
84 Ft Walton Beach, FL $62,600
85 Rochester, NY $62,000
86 Springfield, MA $61,800
87 Peoria, IL $61,800
88 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA $61,700
89 Tacoma, WA $61,500
90 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL $61,200
91 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH $60,700
92 Champaign-Urbana, IL $60,600
93 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX $60,500
94 Stockton, CA $60,300
95 Akron, OH $60,300
96 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC $60,200
97 Salt Lake City, UT $60,100
98 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV $60,100
99 Durham, NC $60,100
100 Greeley, CO $59,800
101 Kokomo, IN $59,700
102 Jacksonville, FL $59,700
103 New York-White Plains-Wayne. NY-NJ $59,500
104 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY $59,300
105 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA $59,200
106 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $59,100
107 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI $59,100
108 Carson City, NV $58,800
109 Syracuse, NY $58,700
110 Dover, DE $58,700

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/28/real_estate/most_affordable_housing_markets/index.htm

[bnk]

Median is a much better measure in my book

50 Honolulu, HI $38,689 +5.1% improved nicley to 36 Honolulu, HI $73,500. Whereas 24 San Diego-Carslbad-San Marcos, CA $42,797 +5.5% dropped from 24 to 45 San Diego, CA $69,400. Every metro's income jumped but not to the degee that Honolulu did. Who would like to explain the differance of a large increase from average to median vs a small increase from average to median?

I wonder why 30 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX $41,429 +5.7% is not on the second list?

[Gordo]

It should be pointed out that the first list is per capita average, where the second is per household median - it's not just an average vs. median thing. High cost of living places would naturally move up the per household list because in those areas, more households are going to have dual incomes - probably explaining part of the Honolulu jump and the fact that Houston dropped off the second list.

[mcfinley]

The second list, for median household income, seems a bit better in representing differences in income wealth among cities, but I have a question.

Camden, NJ is #22 at $76,900, as in, you know, Camden?

[Evergrey]

I'm pleasantly surprised to Pittsburgh on there, all I ever hear is how low the pay is in the area. Considering that LA is only about $300 higher and the cost of living in LA is not even the same ballpark as it is in Pitt makes things look even better. Pittsburgh also seems to be the only rust belt city on the list as well (maybe Milwaukee).

Pittsburgh has had the 19th best rate of increase for "per capita personal income" amongst the country's 389 or so MSAs since 1980... according to a recent Business Times study. While the net job growth has been low due to the massive loss of steel in the 80s and the continued erosion of low-wage population-dependent sectors in the wake of that economic catastrophe... we have been quite successful in the creation of jobs in certain high-wage sectors. Eventually we will reach a critical mass and any negative inertia from the 80s will finally be overcome. This city is too special to wallow in mediocrity.

[Evergrey]

I find Casper and Cheyenne's high rankings perplexing...anyone have an explanation?

I would assume natural resource and mineral extraction (and perhaps processing) compose a significant portion of the economy in these places... and these industries usually pay rather well.... and they can pay outrageous wages when located in remote locations (Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, etc.) as an extra incentive for people to relocate there for work. I know of freshly minted petroleum engineers from Penn State who took $100k-a-year positions in barren locations in Montana a few years ago.

[Crawford]

The second list, for median household income, seems a bit better in representing differences in income wealth among cities, but I have a question.

Camden, NJ is #22 at $76,900, as in, you know, Camden?

Camden is a small city. Why would it be surprising that a large suburban area in the wealthiest or second wealthiest state in the nation would have a relatively high median income?

Granted, there is more wealth in the central and northern parts of NJ, but I'm sure that southern NJ has lots of upper middle class areas.

Take a look at Bridgeport, which is the second poorest city in CT. According to the first list, it's the largest city in what is (by far) the wealthiest region of the country. Of course, the wealth is in places like Greenwich, Westport, Darien and New Caanan, but Bridgeport is included in the income figures.

[10023]

Look how much lower New York is on the median list. Shows the effect of having 1% of people earning $10 million a year vs. 30-40% of people earning $35,000 per year.

[big W]

I tried to find the Canadian CMA figures for 2007 but only found 2005 numbers for a comparision. The 2007 numbers would be better as the currency is also almost on par so that takes out that issue as well. What I find most intresting is look how well our national capitals placed. All those government jobs that do pay well in one place does raise the overall median. Also in Canada the two big provinces with more socialist leanings had provincial capitals (Quebec City and Victoria) with signigicantly higher median incomes than the rest of their respective provinces CMA's so once again government.

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/070529/d070529e.htm

1. Ottawa Gatineau ON/QC - 77,000
2. Oshawa ON - 76,800
3. Calgary AB - 75,400
4. Edmonton AB - 72,600
5. Kitchener Waterloo ON - 71,100
6. Windsor ON - 69,700
7. Hamilton ON - 69,500
8. Regina SK - 68,500
9. Thunder Bay ON - 67,200
10. Victoria BC - 66,900
11. Kingston ON - 66,400
12. London ON - 66,100
13. Sudbury ON - 66,100
14. Quebec City QC - 64,900
15. Halifax NS - 64,800
16. Saskatoon SK - 63,600
17. Toronto ON - 61,800
18. Winnipeg MB - 61,600
19. St. Catharines–Niagara ON - 60,600
20. St Johns NF - 59,800
21. Sagenauy QC - 58,900
22. Vancouver BC - 58,800
23. Montreal QC - 58,600
24. Saint John NB - 57,000
25. Sherbrooke QC - 56,100
26. Abbotsford BC - 55,700
27. Trois Rivieres QC - 55,100

[Evergrey]

Look how much lower New York is on the median list. Shows the effect of having 1% of people earning $10 million a year vs. 30-40% of people earning $35,000 per year.

That could partially be attributed to the fact that the first list includes the entire New York MSA... while the second list just includes a certain segment of that MSA (NYC-White Plains-etc). Other segments of the NYC MSA rank near the top... such as Edison, NJ. These are known as "Metropolitan Divisions" and if you click on that CNN Money link... you can see which ones are "Divisions".

Also... the first list is PER CAPITA PERSONAL INCOME while the second is MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME. It is not MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME as dimondpark stated. Not only is there a difference between "per capita" and "median"... but there's also a difference in what we're measuring... "personal income" and "family income". I assume NYC has a higher-than-average proportion of NON-FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS... so while its per capita income may be very high... it would fall in household measures because non-family households make less than family households, which often have two personal incomes.

The first list takes the Total Personal Income of an MSA and divides it amongst the population of that MSA. It's quite simple. Local age demographics and Bill Gates can potentially skew numbers.

The second list is based on family households. It is from a study on owner-occupied housing affordability. Family households may often have two income-generators contributing to the household income. Nonfamily households often consist of a single person. An area's composition of family vs. nonfamily households will affect its median household income. Nationally, about 1/3 of households are non-family households.

At first I thought "these median household income" numbers from CNN/Money were about $20k-$30k too high... and then I clicked the link and saw they're actually for family households... as apparently nonfamily households don't purchase homes.

[10023]

My point still stands. The average apartment in Manhattan costs over $1 million, which makes it seem like a city of fabulously wealthy people until you realize that overall, urban New Yorkers make less money than most places despite the astronomically high cost of living.

[Gordo]

My point still stands. The average apartment in Manhattan costs over $1 million, which makes it seem like a city of fabulously wealthy people until you realize that overall, urban New Yorkers make less money than most places despite the astronomically high cost of living.

I'm sure if we looked at a breakout of strictly Manhattan, things would look a little different. I understand your point - as it is mirrored in my own city of San Francisco, but it has more to do with other factors (percentage of population that rents, rent control, etc, etc) that influence the overall cost of living.

[Evergrey]

My point still stands. The average apartment in Manhattan costs over $1 million, which makes it seem like a city of fabulously wealthy people until you realize that overall, urban New Yorkers make less money than most places despite the astronomically high cost of living.

Your point does not stand in this discussion... as you're shifting the topic now. This thread is not about "cost of living". It's about "per capita personal income"... with that somewhat confusing "median family income" masquerading as "median household income" list adding another facet to the discussion.

"Urban New York" is not coterminus with the Manhattan and its $1 million dollar "apartments". There is a wide variety of living options throughout the 5 boroughs and beyond. It is true that high costs for many basic necessities eat up a good portion of a New Yorker's paycheck... but most of them also go without some of the expensive "mandatory luxuries" the rest of the country enjoys... like automobile ownership, automobile maintenance and repairs, gasoline and automobile insurance.


And since you seem to be focusing solely on Manhattan... Manhattan's personal per capita income was over $93k in 2005. That's $18k more than 2nd place Marin County, CA... $45k more than Lake County, IL... and $54k (more than twice) the per capita median income of Cook County, IL. So while Manhattanites have a cost of living twice that of just about every other place in the country... they're also making twice that of just about every place in the country. Most people realize that the other 4 boroughs make MUCH LESS... but they also don't have median $1 million "apartments".

Find all the info you need here:
http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/

[Red UM Rebel]

I am surprised that Atlanta is so low considering that they are always saying it is in the top five places for young professionals.

[Evergrey]

Just because I feel like being a dork... here's the Top 50 US MSAs ranked by Total Personal Income (TPI)... which the Per Capita Personal Income is drawn from. You might notice some rank differences from the top metros by population. TPI is in millions:

1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA $910,760
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA $505,197
3. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI $391,262
4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $270,903
5. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $250,482
6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX $235,277
7. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $233,248
8. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX $229,517
9. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH $223,140
10. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL $216,523
11. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA $184,186
12. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI $170,600
13. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $144,337
14. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI $138,735
15. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $136,972
16. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA $125,885
17. Baltimore-Towson, MD $115,770
18. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA $111,869
19. Denver-Aurora, CO $106,706
20. St. Louis, MO-IL $104,202
21. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $95,671
22. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL $94,311
23. Pittsburgh, PA $91,790
24. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA $79,399
25. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH $78,371
26. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA $77,056
27. Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN $76,521
28. Kansas City, MO-KS $74,266
29. Orlando-Kissimmee, FL $65,459
30. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT $64,743
31. Las Vegas-Paradise, NV $64,543
32. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN $63,058
33. Columbus, OH $62,698
34. San Antonio, TX $62,110
35. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI $60,876
36. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC $60,508
37. Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA $59,967
38. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC $57,062
39. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN $56,026
40. Austin-Round Rock, TX $54,955
41. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT $52,540
42. Jacksonville, FL $46,314
43. Richmond, VA $45,122
44. Memphis, TN-MS-AR $44,758
45. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN $43,257
46. Birmingham-Hoover, AL $41,399
47. Oklahoma City, OK $41,278
48. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA $39,290
49. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY $38,335
50. Raleigh-Cary, NC $36,905

[ddiaz49073]

Where did the tpi figures come from?

[Evergrey]

http://www.bea.gov Go to regional research.

[pdxtex]

portland didn't even make that first list!! i guess we are a bunch of broke ass hippies.

[Evergrey]

Portland, OR ranks 72nd in per capita personal income ($37,145).
Portland, ME ranks 76th ($36,752).