What is personal per capita income?

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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EST, Tuesday, November 16, 2021

BEA 21-57

Personal Income by County and Metropolitan Area, 2020

In 2020, personal income increased in 3,040 counties, decreased in 69, and was unchanged in 3, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Personal income increased 6.4 percent in the metropolitan portion of the United States and increased 7.6 percent in the nonmetropolitan portion (table A). In metropolitan counties, the percent change in personal income ranged from 24.6 percent in Power County, ID, to –8.9 percent in Lynn County, TX. In nonmetropolitan counties, it ranged from 57.3 percent in Clark County, SD, to –18.9 percent in Skagway Municipality, AK (BEA interactive data).

What is personal per capita income?

What is personal per capita income?

Personal current transfer receipts accounted for $1,102 billion of the $1,205 billion increase in personal income at the national level in 2020. The increase in transfer receipts reflected new government relief payments provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. Absent the increase in personal current transfer receipts, personal income would have increased in 2,006 counties, decreased in 1,038, and remained unchanged in 68. Personal income would have increased 0.6 percent in both the metropolitan portion and the nonmetropolitan portion of the United States.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on 2020 County and Metropolitan Area Personal Income Estimates

The 2020 estimates of local area personal income were impacted by the response to the spread of COVID-19, as governments issued and lifted "stay-at-home" orders and government pandemic assistance payments were distributed to households and businesses. The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the local area personal income estimates, because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified. For more information, see Federal Recovery Programs and BEA Statistics.

Per capita personal income. In the metropolitan portion of the United States, per capita personal income—personal income divided by population—increased 6.0 percent in 2020, up from 3.6 percent in 2019. In the nonmetropolitan portion of the United States, per capita personal income increased 7.7 percent, up from 3.6 percent. Table 1 presents estimates of per capita personal income by state and county.

The county personal income estimates released today provide more geographic detail on the nation's personal income for 2020. National estimates of personal income for 2020 were first released in February 2021, followed by preliminary state personal income estimates in March. The personal income estimates released today provide the first glimpse of personal income for 2020 in counties and metropolitan statistical areas. Real personal income for states, metropolitan areas, and state metropolitan and nonmetropolitan portions of the United States will be released on December 14, 2021.

Annual Update to County and Metropolitan Area Personal Income

The estimates for 2020 incorporate the results of BEA's annual update of county and metropolitan area personal income that was also released today. The annual estimates of county and metropolitan area personal income for 1998 to 2019 were revised. The update incorporates revised source data that are more complete and more detailed than previously available, the results of the July 2021 annual update of the National Income and Product Accounts, and the results of the September 2021 annual update of state personal income.

BEA county and metropolitan area per capita personal income statistics are calculated using U.S. Census Bureau midyear population estimates. These annual midyear estimates are based on the 2010 census. BEA will incorporate Census Bureau midyear population estimates based on the 2020 census results when they become available.

Next release: November 16, 2022, at 8:30 A.M. EST
Personal Income by County and Metropolitan Area, 2021

Full Release & County Table (PDF)

County Table (Excel)

Metropolitan Area Table (Excel)

Highlights (PDF)

Interactive Tables

Resources

  • Information on COVID-19 and recovery impacts is available on our website.
  • Stay informed about BEA developments by reading The BEA Wire, signing up for BEA's email subscription service, or following BEA on Twitter @BEA_News.
  • Historical time series for these estimates can be accessed in BEA's Interactive Data Application.
  • Access BEA data by registering for BEA's Data Application Programming Interface.
  • For more on BEA's statistics, see our monthly online journal, the Survey of Current Business.
  • For upcoming economic indicators, see BEA's news release schedule.
  • BEA Regional Facts (BEARFACTS) is a narrative summary of personal income, per capita personal income, and components of income for counties, metropolitan statistical areas, and states.
  • Complete information on the sources and methods for the estimation of BEA's Local Area Personal Income and Employment.

Definitions

Personal income 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 transfers. It includes income from domestic sources as well as the rest of world. It does not include realized or unrealized capital gains or losses.

Personal income is measured before the deduction of personal income taxes and other personal taxes and is reported in current dollars (no adjustment is made for price changes).

The estimate of personal income for the United States is the sum of the state estimates and the estimate for the District of Columbia; it differs slightly from the estimate of personal income in the National Income and Product Accounts because of differences in coverage, in the methodologies used to prepare the estimates, and in the timing of the availability of source data.

Per capita personal income is calculated as the total personal income of the residents of a given area divided by the population of the area. In computing per capita personal income, BEA uses Census Bureau midyear population estimates.

Uses of local area personal income statistics

Local area personal income statistics provide a framework for analyzing current economic conditions in local economies and can serve as a basis for decisionmaking. For example, they can be used:

What is personal income per capita?

Per capita personal income is calculated as the total personal income of the residents of a given area divided by the population of the area. In computing per capita personal income, BEA uses Census Bureau midyear population estimates.

What is the difference between personal income and per capita income?

National income is the total value a country's final output of all new goods and services produced in one year whereas national income is calculated by taking sum of all sectors personal, public or government. per capita income = total income ÷ total population.

What is per capita income with example?

The term 'Per Capita' means 'Per Person'. Per Capita Income or PCI is the average income that an individual earns in a given area or country in a year. It is usually measured to assess the average earning of a population to compare it with other populations.

What is per capita example?

How Do You Calculate Per Capita? To get per capita, divide a statistical measurement for an organization by that organization's population. So, if 1,000 apples are together owned by 10 people, we can say there are 100 apples per capita.