Today, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released real, price-adjusted estimates of personal income for states and metropolitan areas for 2008-2012. The price-adjustments are based on regional price parities (RPPs) and on BEA’s national Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index. The RPPs measure geographic differences in the price levels of consumption goods and services relative to the national average, and the PCE price index measures national price changes over time. Using the RPPs in combination with the PCE price index allows for comparisons of the purchasing power of personal income across regions and over time. These estimates are being released for the first time as official statistics.*
Growth in real state personal income from 2011 to 2012 ranged from a decline of 1.2% in South Dakota to an increase of 15.1% in North Dakota. These growth rates reflect the year-over-year change in the state’s nominal personal income, the change in the national PCE price index, and the change in the regional price parity for that state. After North Dakota, the states with the largest growth rates were Montana (3.7%), Indiana (3.7%), California (3.4%), and Mississippi (3.4%). South Dakota was the only state with a decline in real personal income. The states with the smallest growth rates were Maine (0.3%), Alaska (0.7%), and Alabama (0.8%). The District of Columbia’s growth rate was 0.4%. States with growth rates close to the national average were Delaware (2.4%), Georgia (2.2%), Illinois (2.4%), Minnesota (2.2%), and Oregon (2.4%).
* Prototype statistics were released for evaluation and comment by users on June 12, 2013.