Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Personal income in rural counties rose more than U.S. average from 2009 to 2010, federal data show

Personal income in rural counties increased by 3.5 percent from 2009 to 2010, more than the 2.8 percent increase in the nation as a whole, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Total per capita income in rural counties is now 80 percent of the national average.

The Daily Yonder map (below) shows income gains in rural counties. Dark green counties saw income increases of more than 5 percent, light green saw "above average" gains of 2.8 to 5 percent, light red areas show gains of less than 2.8 percent and red areas indicate a per capita income loss. More than 1,300 rural counties saw increases.


Bill Bishop of the Yonder reports only 7.4 percent of rural counties had a decline in personal income over the same period. Per capita rural income is still behind average incomes in exurban and rural counties, but the gains in 2010 slightly narrowed the gap, he writes. (Read more)

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