TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Metro Area Income Growth In '07 Lags National Number

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL SASSO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 7, 2008

TAMPA - Income in the Tampa Bay area grew more slowly in 2007 than for the nation as a whole, according to new numbers from Washington.

Per capita personal income in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area grew by 3.8 percent in 2007. The national number is 5.2 percent, according to a report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal income is defined as income from all sources, including wages, rental income, dividends, interest and other sources.

Per capita personal income is determined by taking an area's total personal income and dividing it by the population.

Florida generally fared poorly when compared with the country because of the slowdown in construction.

Four of the 10 metropolitan areas in the United States with the lowest growth in per capita personal income are in Florida: Cape Coral, Ocala, Lakeland and Palm Coast.

Palm Coast had the worst performance in the nation in per capita personal income growth, falling by one-half percent in 2007.

Areas faring well include Mississippi coastal regions and New Orleans, which received federal money to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, and areas in Texas that benefited from the oil and natural gas boom.

Pascagoula, Miss., had the nation's strongest growth in per capita personal income, with a 17 percent increase.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865 or msasso@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT