MacIver News Service | June 22, 2011
In a report released today by the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Wisconsin was best in the great lakes region and placed in a tie for 8th in the nation for personal income growth.
For the first three months of the year, personal income grew at 2.1% here, compared to the average across the entire United States of 1.8%. The report stated that a large portion of the increase in Wisconsin was from the durable good manufacturing.
North Dakota was the fastest growing state with a 6.9% increase in personal income, mainly due to rising wheat prices globally.
On the other hand, Iowa came in last, coming in at an anemic .7% growth rate for the first quarter. Iowa was the only state to not reach 1% growth, and they were among a group of 4 states whose growth rates actually fell from the last quarter in 2010 to the first quarter in 2011.
In the report the BEA defined personal income as “the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income, and personal current transfer receipts.”
Another statistic of note, when taking an average of the growth rates of the previous two quarters, Wisconsin came in at 9th.
