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A regional public media collaboration serving the Rocky Mountain States of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Mountain West Sees High Personal Income Growth Rates

Increases in earnings, property income (dividends, interest, and rent), and transfer receipts contributed to personal income growth nationally and in most states.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Increases in earnings, property income (dividends, interest, and rent), and transfer receipts contributed to personal income growth nationally and in most states.

Personal income is on the rise across the country, and some of the biggest increases are in Mountain West states, according to data published last week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Compared to a 5.4% annual growth rate nationally, Idaho saw a 7.4% rise in the second quarter, while personal income rose 6.9% in Utah.

Matthew von Kerczek, an economist with the bureau, says professional services, such as law firms, accounting offices and marketing agencies, experienced the most growth. But our region also saw significant gains in other areas.

“We saw growth in finance in Nevada and in Utah. And we saw growth in farming in Idaho and in Wyoming,” von Kerczek said.

Every state in the West saw above-average personal income growth during the second quarter except Colorado, with a rate of 4.8%.

“Professional, scientific, and technical services was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in Texas, the fastest growing state, as well as five other fast-growing states— Washington, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon,” the report said.

Meanwhile, North Dakota’s rate was unchanged.

Nationally, the second quarter’s growth rate of 5.4% is down from the first quarter rate of 6.2%.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City, KUNR in Nevada and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

Copyright 2020 KUNR Public Radio. To see more, visit .

Noah Glick is from the small town of Auburn, Indiana and comes to KUNR from the Bay Area, where he spent his post-college years learning to ride his bike up huge hills. He’s always had a love for radio, but his true passion for public radio began when he discovered KQED in San Francisco. Along with a drive to discover the truth and a degree in Journalism from Ball State University, he hopes to bring a fresh perspective to local news coverage.
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