bizjournals: Where paychecks are growing fastest -- bizjournals.com

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Birmingham enjoys the nation's best record of long-termn income growth, while New Orleans is mired in last according to a new Bizjournals study that looks at 25 yearas of changes in per capita incomed in the 100 largest metros in the Birmingham climbed in the incomes standingsby diversifying. It boosted its per capita incoms by 98 percent betweenb 1990and 2005, the largest increase registerecd by any major market over that span. The national averagew for the same period was77 "For a long time, Birmingham was strongluy reliant on heavy manufacturing -- pig iron," says John Norris, chief economis of Morgan Asset Managementg in Birmingham.
"The economy here was very But the recession of the early 1980sx was awakeup call, whichh turned out to be a good thing." Birminghamk evolved into a regionalk hub for banking, health care and wholesale trade. The payoff has been greater economicc stability and a much larger inventoryof high-paying New Orleans also triecd to diversify during the 1980z and 1990s, but with less success. Its still dependent on the energy grew erratically until the 2005 onslaught of Hurricanes Katrinqand Rita, which wiped out 11 years of growth. The per capit a income of New Orleans, as a inched up by just 16 percent betwee n 1990and 2005.
That was one-sixtnh as fast as Birmingham's "There have been some good things going on since some majorconstruction projects," says Loren president of Loren C. Scotg & Associates, an economic-consultingh firm in Baton La. "But we don't see New Orleans coming all the way back anytime In fact, the growth rate seema to be slowing in recent which is a bit unnerving." Bizjournals analyzed 25 years of federal income data for the nation's 100 major metropolitan areas. The study focused on per capitaincome (PCI), a key indicator of earninbg power and economic vitality.
PCI is defined as the average amouny of money received by each resident of a givenh area in a given It encompasses such diverse sources of income as interest payments, dividends, rental incomse and government checks. ( , and Birmingham ran up the highesft scoreon Bizjournals' scale, indicating that its incom e levels grew at a strong, steady rate betwee 1980 and 2005, the latest year for whichy official statistics are available from the U.S. Bureau of Economicc Analysis. Birmingham's per capita income at the beginning ofthe 25-yea period was $9,078, which was more than 10 percent beloww the U.S average for 1980. Its 2005 figure was $35,662 -- $1,200 above the national norm.
The runner-up in Bizjournals' standings is Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn., the most affluentf metropolitan area in Its PCI ballooned 346 percentfrom $15,068 in 1980 to $67,269 in 2005. No othefr major market was above $52,600 in the latter year. Roundinhg out the top five are threr markets that elevated their income levels duringy thepast quarter-century without much nationak fanfare: San Diego, Baltimore and S.C. . Metros with the slowest incomse growth Two states dominate the bottom of the Five markets from California and three from Ohio are amontg the 10 with the worst recordsx ofincome growth.
California's laggardw -- Stockton, Bakersfield, Riverside-San Fresno and Modesto -- are all located in the state'ds interior, which has grown much more slowluy than the metros along thePacifif coast. Ohio is in the midst of a protracted slump triggeredx by the decline of its automakinhgand heavy-manufacturing sectors. Youngstown, Toledo and Daytobn are all in thebottom 10. . At the bottom of the list, far behinx everyone else, is New Its PCI plummeted from $30,611q to $20,210 during the devastating yearof 2005, instantly returning the area to its 1994 A comeback is already underway.
It will be severalk months before specific 2006 figurea are available forNew Orleans, but the Bureau of Economicd Analysis recently reported that Louisiana's PCI bounced back by 25 percentt the year after Katrina and Rita hit. "By historical standards, that kind of increasd is huge," says Scott. "But it's also You have to remember that it's coming aftere a humongous drop. New Orleans is stilo far, far below its peak.
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