Mainers’ personal incomes rose 2.8 percent in 2017, slightly above the national average, according to federal data released Thursday.
The income increase at the national level was 2.6 percent, adjusted for inflation, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Personal incomes in New York grew the most, 4.5 percent, while South Dakota’s personal income declined for the year, falling 0.4 percent.
The BEA said total personal income in Maine for 2017 was $59.7 billion, up from $58.1 billion in 2016.
By metro area, Portland-South Portland posted the strongest growth in income, rising 2.9 percent from $26.2 billion in 2016 to $27.0 billion in 2017. Income in the Bangor metro area rose 1.7 percent, from $5.9 billion to $6.0 billion and in Lewiston-Auburn, the growth was 2.2 percent, from $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion. Nationally, income increases in 2017 for metro areas ranged from a high of 14.8 percent in Midland, Michigan, to a decline of 5.9 percent in Enid, Oklahoma.
Portland’s increase ranked in the top third for metro areas, said Amanda Rector, the Maine state economist.
“Maine has continued to see strong real personal income growth in 2017, continuing the robust growth from the previous year,” Rector said. Personal income growth in Maine in 2016 was 2.6 percent and the national average for that year was 1.5 percent.
The BEA also calculated a statistic called “regional price parity,” which compares the cost of a mix of goods and services in the states. Maine’s rating was slightly below 100, meaning prices in the state were slightly below the national average in 2017, Rector said.
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