Utah ranks only 44th in per-person income

WASHINGTON — New economic data show that Utah again ranks among the worst in the nation for per-person personal income.

It ranked 44th, seventh worst among the 50 states, in per capita personal income in 2001, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

On the bright side, just nine years ago in 1993 Utah ranked 48th. It had made a slow climb out of the cellar, even escaping the dreaded list of 10 worst briefly in 1999 by ranking 40th.

But it fell back to 44th in 2000 and remained in the same spot in new data for 2001.

The bureau reported that the average personal income in Utah in 2001 was $24,202 per person, up from $23,436 in 2000.

The bureau noted that meant that Utahns make only 80 percent of the national average, or $4 for every $5 others make on average.

The national average was $30,271 per person.

Economists note that one reason Utah ranks low is that Utahns tend to have larger-than-average families. So breadwinners' earnings are spread out over more people, lowering averages.

The "bottom 10" list of per-person income for states was: Mississippi ($21,643); West Virginia ($22,725); Arkansas ($22,912); New Mexico ($23,162); Montana ($23,532); Louisiana ($24,084); Utah ($24,202); Idaho ($24,257); Alabama ($24,426); and South Carolina ($24,594).

The state with the highest per capita personal income is Connecticut, ($41,930), followed by Massachusetts ($38,845) and New Jersey ($38,153).

A bright spot in the new data is that per capita personal income was rising faster in Utah than the national average.

It rose by 3.3 percent last year, or faster than the national average of 2.7 percent.

Utah's rate of increase was 22nd best among the 50 states.

The sector with the highest growth during 2001 in Utah was farming, where income rose 8.9 percent.

The growth in income from other Utah sectors was: government, 8.6 percent; mining, 8 percent; finance/insurance/real estate, 8 percent; services, 5.3 percent; transportation and utilities, 4.2 percent; retail trade, 3.5 percent; construction, 2.8 percent; non-durable goods manufacturing, 2 percent; durable goods manufacturing, minus 1.2 percent; and wholesale trade, minus 3.5 percent.

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