U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Personal income remained flat in October after increasing 0.4 percent in September. Wages and salaries decreased 0.2 percent in October after increasing 0.3 percent in September. The October decrease reflected work interruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, which reduced wages and salaries by 0.3 percent. For more information, see the personal income news release.

Current-dollar disposable personal income (DPI), after-tax income, remained flat in October after increasing 0.4 percent in September.

Real DPI, income adjusted for taxes and inflation, fell 0.1 percent in October after remaining flat in September.

Real consumer spending, spending adjusted for price changes, fell 0.3 percent in October after rising 0.4 percent in September. The decline was the largest since September 2009. Spending on durable goods fell 1.7 percent in October after rising 2.2 percent in September.

PCE prices increased 0.1 percent in October after increasing 0.3 percent in September. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.1 percent in October, the same increase as in September.

Personal saving rate
Personal saving as a percent of DPI was 3.4 percent in October, compared with 3.3 percent in September.

Personal income rose in 3,062 of the nation’s 3,113 counties in 2011, with growth ranging from 62.2 percent in King County, TX, to –28.8 percent in Lynn County, TX. Of the 50 counties with the fastest personal income growth in 2011, 45 were located in the Plains Region—with 41 of the 45 counties located in Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Increases in farm income were a major factor in the growth rates for most of these counties. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, accelerated to 2.4 percent in 2011 from 1.9 percent in 2010.

Per capita personal income (personal income divided by population) in counties in 2011 ranged from $121,301 in New York County (Manhattan), NY, to $16,752 in Crowley County, CO. Of the nation’s 3,113 counties, 609 (19.6 percent) had 2011 per capita personal income levels that exceeded the nation’s average of $41,560.

For more information about personal income, read the full report.

Personal income rose in 2011 in all of the nation’s 366 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for the first time since 2007. Personal income growth ranged from 14.8 percent in Odessa, TX, to 1.0 percent in Rochester, MN. Personal income in the United States rose 5.2 percent in 2011, up from 3.8 percent in 2010. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, accelerated to 2.4 percent in 2011 from 1.9 percent in 2010.

Odessa and neighboring Midland, TX—which ranked second in personal income growth for MSAs at 14.6 percent—had strong earnings growth in mining and related industries, while Rochester’s personal income was affected by a decline in health care earnings.

For more information about personal income, read the full report.