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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Per Capita Income Rises

Associated Press

Americans living in the nation’s interior enjoyed the fastest growth in personal incomes last year, boosted in part by a rebound in farm income that had fallen during the 1993 Midwest floods.

In addition to those in the Plains states, residents in many of the Great Lakes states shared in the brisk per capita income growth, due to stronger durable-goods manufacturing and increased construction, a Commerce Department study found.

The slowest growth was in the West, including California, the last state to emerge from the recent recession. In fact, income growth trailed the pace of inflation in California, Alaska, Hawaii and Montana.

Per capita income is the annual income of residents divided by a state’s population.

The study released Wednesday by the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis found per capita income for the nation rose 4.3 percent in 1994, to $21,699.

Inflation, as measured by a special price index for personal consumption expenditures, was 2.4 percent.

xxxx IN THE REGION A state-by-state listing of per capita incomes of states in the region for 1994, followed by each state’s income ranking last year and the percentage change from 1993.

State Income Rank Chng Idaho 18,406 39 3.9 Mont. 17,824 41 1.1 Ore. 20,468 26 4.8 Utah 17,172 46 5.0 Wash. 22,542 12 3.2 Wyo. 20,378 27 2.7 USA 21,699 - 4.3