El Paso, Texas Sets National Pace for Income Growth
Portfolio.com – the national business news site for small business resources and mid-sized business (SMB) executives – today revealed its latest U.S. Uncovered study, ranking U.S. cities with the highest income growth. The study, which looked at the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas, analyzed 25 years of federal income data to calculate how income level growth compares across the nation. El Paso, Texas, ranks in first place, with a 147 percent increase in income levels over the past 20 years.
The study used a 25-part formula to analyze the consistency and strength of per capita income (PCI) growth in each market. The formula compared each area’s growth rates against the U.S. averages for 25 different time spans, yielding an overall score for income growth. All 25 spans ended in 2009, ranging in length from 25 years (1984-2009) to a single year (2008-2009).
“When you consider the current high rate of unemployment in this country, our study suggests that people may want to explore job opportunities or start businesses in smaller cities, like El Paso, Baton Rouge and Oklahoma City, where income growth is higher and the economy has been relativity stable in comparison to other parts of the U.S.”, said J. Jennings Moss, editor of Portfolio.com.
El Paso, which ranks as the 99th lowest per capita income of $28,638, holds first place in 13 of the 25 time spans, including a 147 percent increase in income levels between 1989 and 2009, and two percent during the recessionary period of 2008 to 2009. Meanwhile, Bridgeport-Stamford, Connecticut, which had the highest PCI in 2009 ($73,720), ranks 33 in the income growth index.
