Utahns' per capita income 48th in nation

Utah's per-capita personal income in 2007 was $29,831, ranking 48th among the states.

That was 77 percent of the $38,615 national average, according to county-level data released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Because of the two-year time lag that's somewhat consistent when it comes to federal income data, the information predates the current recession and doesn't reflect how Utah or its counties compare in this economy.

In terms of total personal income, which includes all sources, Utah fared better in 2007, at 35th, but because of larger families, the per-capita personal income was smaller than in most states.

The report says that personal income nationally grew 6 percent in 2007, driven largely by a "surge in farm income" in 29 of the 31 fastest-growing counties. That followed what had been sharp declines in farm income in 2006.

The report counts as personal income not only wages and salaries, but also employer-provided health insurance, dividends and interest income, Social Security benefits and other types of income. It divides the total by population to arrive at the per-capita figures.

The per-capita range stretched from $8,579 in Loup County, Neb., to $132,728 in Teton County, Wyo.

In metropolitan areas of Utah, the per-capita income was $30,422, while the non-metro areas had a per-capita personal income of $25,001.

According to the county breakdown offered for Utah, 2007 per-capita personal income was highest in Summit County ($59,216), followed by Salt Lake County ($35,805), Duchesne County ($32,996), Davis County ($31,518) and Weber County ($29,669).

San Juan County came in dead last ($17,170), slightly lower than Sanpete County ($19,329).

Utah County ranked No. 25 in the state with a personal per-capita income of $21,668. Washington County was 19th at $24,014. And Cache County was 23rd at $22,874.

The entire report is online at www.bea.gov.

E-MAIL: lois@desnews.com