The per capita personal income for Wisconsin in 2003 was $30,898 according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That represents a 2.8 percent increase over the revised 2002 per capita personal income (PCPI) of $30,050. Although the increase in Wisconsin exceeded the 2.3 percent increase nationally the state PCPI remains below the United States PCPI of $31,632. In 2003 Wisconsin ranked 20th among the 50 states one rank lower than in 2002.
Detail files on personal income in 2002 for states, areas,
and counties (table on next page) were also recently published by
the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In 2002 Wisconsin ranked
19th among the 50 states and PCPI rose 2.3 percent from
$29,361 in 2001. This increase also exceeded the national change of
1.3 percent from 2001 to 2002 but the Wisconsin PCPI was only 97
percent of the $30,906 PCPI in the United States.
One reason why the PCPI in Wisconsin is lower than in the nation and 20 other states is the income disparity of workers in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. This disparity exists in nearly every state in the nation and is actually less in Wisconsin than in the United States. In every state, however, the PCPI for metropolitan areas always exceeds that for non-metropolitan areas. In Wisconsin the PCPI for non-metropolitan areas of $24,484 is 80 percent of the $31,805 PCPI for metropolitan residents while nationally the non-metropolitan PCPI of $23,362 is only 72 percent of metropolitan PCPI of $32,459.
Even though the non-metropolitan PCPI in Wisconsin is greater than in the nation there is a greater share of residents in Wisconsin living in non-metropolitan areas, roughly 28 percent compared with 17 percent in the nation, and that results in a lower overall PCPI in the state. Conversely, the population in Wisconsin’s metropolitan areas is less than in the nation. Wisconsin’s 11 metropolitan areas average 331,450 residents almost half of the US metropolitan average of 661,470 residents. As long as income in rural areas remains lower than in metro areas and Wisconsin remains a largely rural state, PCPI will remain lower than in states with higher concentrations of residents in metropolitan areas.
Per capita personal income is a measure of all income sources (earnings, asset income, and transfer receipts) divided by the total population. The greatest share of total personal income is net earnings from wage and salary employment, self-employment, and farm and nonfarm proprietors. Net earnings comprise roughly 69 percent of total personal income in metropolitan areas in both the United States and Wisconsin but drops in non-metro areas to 60 percent in the US and 63 percent in Wisconsin. Compensating for the lower share of income from wages in non-metropolitan areas is income from transfer receipts, primarily payments from retirement plans (87-90%) and to a lesser degree income maintenance (5-9) and unemployment benefits (3-5%).
The
disparity in net earnings between metro and non-metro areas is
contrasted dramatically by looking at the per capita income from
each source. What is less apparent is why non-metro earnings are so
much higher than in similar areas in the nation or why earnings are
a greater share of total personal income in Wisconsin’s
non-metro areas. Because Wisconsin’s metro areas are small
they are in close proximity to rural residents who find it easy to
travel to employers in metro areas. Likewise, employers find it
convenient to locate in rural areas with easy access to larger
cities, major highways and a workforce less demanding of higher
wages. Wages in rural areas of the state are higher than in other
similar areas in the nation but not as high as in metropolitan
areas.
There are several reasons for higher incomes in metropolitan areas. First, the concentration of professional and technical jobs, with the greater earnings potential, is greater in metropolitan areas. Second, there are more corporate offices, with higher paying administrative positions, in larger metro areas. And third, competition for workers, both professional and non-professional, places upward pressure on wages.
| 2002 County Per Capita Personal Income in Wisconsin (ranked) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | County | Income | Rank | County | Income | Rank | County | Income | 1 | Ozaukee | $ 47,418 | 25 | Green | $ 28,065 | 49 | Shawano | $ 23,878 |
| 2 | Waukesha | $ 41,114 | 26 | Pierce | $ 27,676 | 50 | Langlade | $ 23,686 |
| 3 | Dane | $ 35,414 | 27 | Walworth | $ 27,364 | 51 | Florence | $ 23,648 |
| 4 | Washington | $ 34,149 | 28 | Eau Claire | $ 27,301 | 52 | Douglas | $ 23,639 |
| 5 | Door | $ 31,292 | 29 | Manitowoc | $ 27,097 | 53 | Burnett | $ 23,482 |
| 6 | Brown | $ 31,095 | 30 | Green Lake | $ 26,952 | 54 | Iron | $ 23,407 |
| 7 | St. Croix | $ 30,756 | 31 | Rock | $ 26,865 | 55 | Ashland | $ 23,228 |
| 8 | Sheboygan | $ 30,612 | 32 | Portage | $ 26,674 | 56 | Monroe | $ 23,193 |
| 9 | Columbia | $ 30,528 | 33 | Waupaca | $ 26,297 | 57 | Bayfield | $ 23,085 |
| 10 | Milwaukee | $ 30,456 | 34 | Jackson | $ 25,835 | 58 | Juneau | $ 22,950 |
| 11 | Racine | $ 30,331 | 35 | Dodge | $ 25,684 | 59 | Dunn | $ 22,859 |
| 12 | Calumet | $ 30,050 | 36 | Chippewa | $ 25,655 | 60 | Washburn | $ 22,851 |
| 13 | Outagamie | $ 29,850 | 37 | Vilas | $ 25,623 | 61 | Lafayette | $ 22,724 |
| 14 | Winnebago | $ 29,537 | 38 | Kewaunee | $ 25,499 | 62 | Adams | $ 22,698 |
| 15 | Wood | $ 29,533 | 39 | Trempealeau | $ 25,338 | 63 | Richland | $ 22,603 |
| 16 | Iowa | $ 29,532 | 40 | Oconto | $ 24,836 | 64 | Crawford | $ 22,595 |
| 17 | Fond du Lac | $ 29,487 | 41 | Lincoln | $ 24,588 | 65 | Taylor | $ 22,573 |
| 18 | Marathon | $ 29,103 | 42 | Pepin | $ 24,495 | 66 | Marquette | $ 22,552 |
| 19 | Buffalo | $ 29,087 | 43 | Price | $ 24,483 | 67 | Waushara | $ 22,182 |
| 20 | Jefferson | $ 28,805 | 44 | Marinette | $ 24,466 | 68 | Forest | $ 21,975 |
| 21 | Kenosha | $ 28,775 | 45 | Barron | $ 24,420 | 69 | Clark | $ 21,691 |
| 22 | Sauk | $ 28,298 | 46 | Sawyer | $ 24,288 | 70 | Vernon | $ 20,878 |
| 23 | La Crosse | $ 28,250 | 47 | Polk | $ 24,210 | 71 | Rusk | $ 20,859 |
| 24 | Oneida | $ 28,213 | 48 | Grant | $ 24,060 | 72 | Menominee | $ 18,394 |
Source: US Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, REIS May 2004
The PCPI in Wisconsin reflects the rural nature of the state and that the metropolitan areas are numerous and small. There are 25 counties included in the new designations for metropolitan areas (bolded in table), and 18 are among the top 24 with the highest PCPI in the state. Several of these counties are included in metropolitan areas in neighboring states. They include Kenosha (part of the Chicago IL-IN-WI MSA), Pierce and St. Croix (part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI MSA) and Douglas (part of the Duluth MN-WI MSA). In the first three counties the higher PCPI reflects the wages and salaries earned by residents employed in metro area jobs.
Written by: Beverly Gehrke, Office of Economic Advisors,
Department of Workforce Development, July 2004