South Coast Local Area Personal Income in 2021
December 21, 2022New figures published from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show healthy gains in Oregon and South Coast per capita personal income (PCPI) between 2020 and 2021. PCPI is just one of the figures recently released in the State and Local Area Personal Income series available now for 2021 at www.bea.gov.
PCPI is one of the most often cited figures to measure an area’s overall economic health and prosperity. But there are a few factors that make this an imperfect yardstick to compare local areas and economies. Since the data use total income – earnings from work; personal current transfer receipts; and dividends, interest, and rent – and divide that by total population, areas with a higher concentration of older residents can show lower PCPI. Older residents are less likely to be working, meaning they have less contribution to the net earnings component of income. Remember PCPI represents income, rather than wealth. Older residents may have substantial wealth, but not have as much relative income, and this wealth would not be captured in PCPI figures, unless it was income-generating investments that would show up in the “dividends, interest, and rent” portion of PCPI.
Also, differences in cost-of-living among local areas are not captured in PCPI. Places with lower costs of living and lower PCPI can be relatively as well-off as areas with higher costs of living and higher PCPI. Knowing the limitations of the data can help you understand how to view the figures in a clearer context. All that being said, lets forge ahead and look at the new figures for 2021.
Coos County
In 2021, Coos County’s PCPI was $55,759, the 977th highest PCPI among 3,114 U.S. counties. Coos County’s PCPI rose by 8.2% from 2020, slightly faster growth than for Oregon statewide (8.1%) and surpassing the U.S. increase (7.3%). Coos County’s PCPI was 90.5% of the statewide PCPI and 86.9% of the U.S. average per capita personal income.
About 44% of Coos County’s PCPI is from net earnings, which includes wage and salary income, farm and non-farm proprietor income. Coos’ net earnings share of personal income was much lower than for the United States (59.9%) or Oregon statewide (57.9%). Average earnings per job in Coos County were $47,231 compared with $69,850 for Oregon as a whole. Average nonfarm proprietor income in Coos County exceeded the Oregon average, at $47,728 versus the state’s $38,118.
Per capita personal current transfer receipts made up about 21.7% of U.S. PCPI and 38.4% in Coos County. About 85% of Coos County personal current transfer receipts were from “retirement and other income,” reflecting our slightly older population with more retirees than the state overall. Coos County had higher per capita retirement and other income ($18,207) than Oregon ($12,533). Coos County also had about $550 greater per capita “income maintenance” than the Oregon average.
Dividends, interest, and rent income accounted for about 17.5% of Coos’ personal income in 2021, just slightly less than the share for the U.S. Since the late 1960s, Coos County’s PCPI gap has ranged from 7% below Oregon’s PCPI in the late 1970s to nearly 22% lower than statewide in the year 2000. In 2021, the gap between Coos and Oregon’s PCPI was -$5,837 or -9.5% below Oregon’s PCPI figure. Curry County’s PCPI has roughly paralleled Coos’ over the years, with Coos County income just slightly greater than Curry’s since 2013.
Curry County
In 2021, Curry County’s PCPI was $53,044, the 1,234th highest PCPI among 3,114 U.S. counties. Curry County’s PCPI rose by 8.4% from 2020, slightly faster growth than for Oregon statewide (8.1%) and surpassing the U.S. increase (7.3%). Curry County’s PCPI was 86.1% of the statewide PCPI and 82.7% of the U.S. average per capita personal income.
About 36% of Curry County’s PCPI is from net earnings, which includes wage and salary income, and farm and non-farm proprietor income. Curry’s net earnings share of personal income was much lower than for the United States (59.9%) or Oregon statewide (57.9%). Average earnings per job in Curry County were $46,890 compared with $69,850 for Oregon as a whole. Average nonfarm proprietor income in Curry County trailed the Oregon average, at $27,627 versus the state’s $38,118.
Per capita personal current transfer receipts made up about 21.7% of U.S. PCPI and 41.1% in Curry County. About 88% of Curry County personal current transfer receipts were from “retirement and other income,” reflecting our slightly older population with more retirees that the state overall. Curry County had higher per capita retirement and other income ($18,207) than Oregon ($12,533). Curry County also has about $170 greater per capita “income maintenance” than the Oregon average.
Dividends, interest, and rent income accounted for about 22.7% of Curry’s personal income in 2021, slightly greater than the share for the U.S. Curry County’s PCPI gap with Oregon has ranged between 12% and 16% over the past decade and was as high as nearly 20% in 1969. In 2021, Curry County’s PCPI was 13.9% lower than Oregon’s average, or $8,552 below Oregon’s PCPI figure.
Find additional statistics from the State and Local Personal Income series published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. For more information, visit the website and explore the interactive tables listed.