25 Years of Income Growth: The Top 10
Combing through 25 years of federal income data for the nation’s 100 biggest metropolitan areas, Portfolio.com sought to determine what areas were the best in terms of income growth. Click through to see the top 10 areas that have shown strong growth over the long term, as measured by movements in per capita income.
1. El Paso, Texas
Portfolio.com income growth index: 54.01
Per capita income (2009): $28,638
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 212.1%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 147.4%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 98.2%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 61.9%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 26.1%
Population (2009): 751,296
2: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Portfolio.com income growth index: 39.89
Per capita income (2009): $36,314
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 201.1%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 143.8%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 83.5%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 53.2%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 26.5%
Population (2009): 786,947
3: Baltimore
Portfolio.com income growth index: 36.12
Per capita income (2009): $47,962
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 216.4%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 132.1%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 95.0%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 52.3%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 19.3%
Population (2009): 2,690,886
4: Virginia Beach-Norfolk
Portfolio.com income growth index: 35.69
Per capita income (2009): $39,674
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 192.2%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 126.9%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 92.9%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 57.4%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 22.2%
Population (2009): 1,674,498
5: New Orleans
Portfolio.com income growth index: 31.45
Per capita income (2009): $39,849
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 201.1%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 146.2%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 89.6%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 55.4%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 25.2%
Population (2009): 1,189,981
6: Pittsburgh
Portfolio.com income growth index: 31.06
Per capita income (2009): $42,216
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 212.4%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 132.8%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 87.3%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 44.8%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 21.7%
Population (2009): 2,354,957
7: Oklahoma City
Portfolio.com income growth index: 28.29
Per capita income (2009): $37,909
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 169.9%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 129.1%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 90.7%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 55.0%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 20.5%
Population (2009): 1,227,278
8: Little Rock, Arkansas
Portfolio.com income growth index: 27.84
Per capita income (2009): $38,750
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 208.7%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 137.0%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 86.2%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 47.9%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 19.8%
Population (2009): 685,488
9: Jackson, Mississippi
Portfolio.com income growth index: 25.89
Per capita income (2009): $35,495
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 217.4%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 137.3%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 82.1%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 43.6%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 16.9%
Population (2009): 540,866
10: Honolulu
Portfolio.com income growth index: 25.48
Per capita income (2009): $45,486
25-year income growth rate (1984-2009): 188.7%
20-year income growth rate (1989-2009): 112.2%
15-year income growth rate (1994-2009): 71.9%
10-year income growth rate (1999-2009): 55.6%
5-year income growth rate (2004-2009): 26.7%
Population (2009): 907,574
Back to: A Quarter-Century of Growth
25 Years of Income Growth: The Bottom 10
