Personal income in San Benito County dropped at a lower rate in
2009 than state and national figures, according to data released
last week by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Personal income in San Benito County dropped at a lower rate in 2009 than state and national figures, according to data released last week by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Total personal income in the county was down half a percent, compared to a 2.3 percent drop statewide and a 1.7 percent decline nationally. Over the past decade, the average annual income growth rate was 3.4 percent in San Benito County, compared with 4.3 percent in California and 4.4 percent nationwide.
The county’s per capita personal income of $35,331 in 2009 – the most recent year for which data is available – ranked 30th out of 58 counties in the state and represented a 1 percent decrease from 2008.
Regionally, Santa Cruz County’s per capita personal income was $49,145, a 4.1 percent drop from the previous year, while Santa Clara County ranked fifth in the state with a per capita income of $55,781, down 5.5 percent from the prior year.
From 1999 to 2009, earnings in San Benito County from wages and salaries shrunk from 73 percent to 68 percent of personal income while government payments such as Social Security, Medicare and unemployment compensation grew from 9 percent to 15 percent.
The remainder of income came from dividends, interest and rent, which dropped from 18 percent to 17 percent.
The largest decline in personal income nationally was 8.1 percent in Oakland County, Mich., part of the Detroit metro area that was hard hit when automakers ran into trouble. The largest gain was 4.2 percent, in Loudoun County, Va., near Washington, D.C.
Per capita income ranged from $20,509 in Hidalgo County, Texas, to $105,554 in Manhattan, NY.
