Statistics for every state and the District of Columbia were added today to BEA’s prototype statistics on the distribution of U.S. personal income. This provides a new tool for assessing how households share in each state’s economic growth.
For example, the share of state personal income received by the top 20 percent of households in 2021 ranged from lows of 43.1 percent in Maine and 43.7 percent in Maryland to highs of 53.8 percent in Connecticut and 54.1 percent in Wyoming, according to the prototype statistics.
U.S. personal income is one of the principal economic indicators produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Its state counterpart measures the total income and per capita income received by people living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, helping assess and compare economic well-being across states and regions.
Like the national prototype statistics, the state income distribution statistics were estimated by combining BEA personal income data with other data that are publicly available, including demographic surveys and aggregated tax information.
The statistics include the share of income going to the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent of a state’s households each year. They also divide households into five groups, or quintiles, by amount of income received and include median income and other statistics and ratios that can be used to summarize income inequality.
In addition, the distribution of state personal income is broken down by income components, including compensation, dividends and interest income, and government benefits.
Distribution of state personal income statistics for 2012-2021, information about the method used to construct these statistics, and related research are available on bea.gov alongside the national statistics.
BEA produced distribution of U.S. personal income statistics in 2020 as part of its GDP and Beyond initiative and since then has continued researching, making methodological improvements, and producing updates and new statistics related to income distribution. The state data are part of a 2023 funded initiative to improve and expand measures of distribution of income.
BEA is seeking feedback to help refine the methodology and presentation of the distribution of state personal income statistics. Submit comments to stateincomedistribution@bea.gov.
Distribution of PI by State
https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/distribution-of-personal-income
Blog:
https://www.bea.gov/index.php/news/blog/2023-10-24/new-statistics-show-distribution-personal-income-within-states