R.I. personal income posts 2.6% growth in 2013; per capita income now ranks 14th in U.S.

RHODE ISLAND'S personal income rose 2.6 percent in 2013, matching the U.S. national average and ranking second in New England for the highest personal income growth last year. Per capita income in Rhode Island came in at $47,012 for 2013, based on a state population of just over 1 million residents, which ranked the state 14th nationally in terms of per capita personal income. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
RHODE ISLAND'S personal income rose 2.6 percent in 2013, matching the U.S. national average and ranking second in New England for the highest personal income growth last year. Per capita income in Rhode Island came in at $47,012 for 2013, based on a state population of just over 1 million residents, which ranked the state 14th nationally in terms of per capita personal income. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

PROVIDENCE – Personal incomes in Rhode Island rose 2.6 percent in 2013, while the state’s per capita income ranked as the 14th highest in the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal income in the Ocean State totaled $49.4 billion last year, a gain of $1.3 billion compared with the 2012 total of $48.2 billion. Per capita income in Rhode Island came in at $47,012 for 2013, based on a state population of just over 1 million residents, which ranked the state 14th nationally in terms of per capita personal income.

In 2012, when Rhode Island’s per capita income was $44,990, the state also ranked 14th in the U.S.

Rhode Island’s 2.6 percent change in 2013 personal income matched the U.S. national average, also 2.6 percent for the year. Personal income in the 50 states and the District of Columbia totaled $14.1 trillion, an increase of $352 billion from $13.7 trillion a year earlier.

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In New England, Rhode Island’s 2.6 percent personal income growth outpaced every state except Vermont, which saw a 2.9 percent increase last year. Massachusetts ranked third in the region, with a 2.4 percent increase, followed by New Hampshire (2.3 percent), Maine (2.2 percent) and Connecticut (2.1 percent).

In Massachusetts, 2013 personal income totaled $381 billion, an increase of $9 billion from $372 billion in 2012. Per capita income in the Bay State was $56,923 last year, the third-highest per capita income in the country.

Connecticut claimed the highest per capita personal income in the U.S. at $60,847, although Washington, D.C. (which was excluded from the rankings) posted a higher per capita income at $74,513. Mississippi had the lowest per capita income for 2013 at $34,478.

Average per capita income in the U.S. last year was $44,543.

The BEA defines personal income as the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income and personal current transfer receipts.

In Rhode Island, total earnings dropped for three industries last year – utilities ($7 million less than in 2012), transportation and warehousing ($2 million less), and information ($55 million less) – and for the federal government ($15 million less).

The Ocean State’s health care and social assistance industry was most improved in 2013, with professionals in that field earning $189 million more collectively last year than in 2012. The corporate management industry also showed strong earnings growth, with a gain of $175 million.

Massachusetts saw earnings drops last year in durable goods manufacturing ($101 million less than in 2012), information ($66 million less), and federal and military government ($142 million less and $7 million less, respectively). The state’s professional, scientific and technical services industry saw its total earnings climb $2.6 billion, while the health care and social assistance industry grew by $1.4 billion.

Nationwide, earnings dropped only in the federal government, which reported a total earnings decline of $6.7 billion last year. The largest gains nationally were in the professional, scientific and technical services industry ($44.6 billion more than in 2012) and construction ($44.3 billion more).

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