Alaska vs. United States Comparative Trends Analysis: Per Capita Personal Income Growth and Change, 1958-2022 Introduction  Alaska: 2022 PCI = $68,635 U.S.: 2022 PCI = $65,470 Per Capita Income (PCI) is one of the most widely used indicators for gauging the economic performance and changing fortunes of local economies. It is used as a yardstick to assess the economic well being of a region's residents and the quality of consumer markets. It serves as a barometer for calibrating the economic performance of a region over time and to judge differences in relative economic prosperity between regions. Shifting trends in local per capita income growth have important social and political ramifications and significant implications in formulating local economic development strategies and initiatives. Data Definition: Personal income is the income that is received by persons from all sources. It is calculated as the sum of wage and salary disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries, proprietors' income with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments, rental income of persons with capital consumption adjustment, personal dividend income, personal interest income, and personal current tranfer receipts, less contributions for government social insurance. This measure of income is calculated as the personal income of the residents of a given area divided by the resident population of the area. In computing per capita personal income, BEA uses the Census Bureau's annual midyear population estimates. Personal income is measured as a flow throughout the year, while the measurement of population is at one point in mid-year. Therefore, per capita income is distorted if a significant change in population occurs during the year. For smaller states in particular, per capita income in any given year may be exceptionally high or low for the short run because of unusual local conditions, such as a bumper crop, a catastrophe, or a major construction project as the building of a dam or nuclear power plant. Farm incomes are notorious for being especially volatile year-to-year, owing to changing weather, commodity market conditions, and alterations in government programs. Therefore, the per capita income of farm-dependent states may exhibit sharp fluctuations over time. The presence of large institutional populations--such as residents attending a local college or the residents of a local prison or state mental institution--can significantly lower the per capita income estimates of an area. Such results may not reflect the relative economic well being of the non-institutional population and may mislead if care is not given to their interpretation. Alaska Per Capita Personal Income, 1959-2022 Current vs. Constant Dollars  Figure 1. Figure 1 depicts Alaska's annual per capita personal income over 1959-2022 in current and constant (2017) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Alaska over time. When measured in current dollars, Alaska's per capita personal income increased 2,095.41%, from $3,126 in 1959 to $68,635 in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 189.27%, from $20,447 in 1959 to $59,146 in 2022. Real Per Capita Personal Income Indices (1958=100): 1958-2022  Figure 2. Figure 2 portrays Alaska's real per capita personal income growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real per capita personal income in 1958 as a base figure of 100, and the real per capita personal incomes in later years as a percentage of the 1958 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real per capita personal income growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. Alaska's overall real per capita personal income growth was 196.95% over 1958-2022 trailed the United States' increase of 293.54%. Per Capita Personal Income as a Percent of the U.S. Average: 1958-2022  Figure 3. Figure 3 depicts the trends for per capita personal income relative to the national average by tracing Alaska per capita personal income as a percent of the national average over 1958-2022. In 1958, Alaska's per capita personal income amounted to 138.93% of the national average; in 2022, it approximated 104.84%. Alaska Real Per Capita Personal Income: Annual Percent Change, 1959-2022  Figure 4. Figure 4 shows the short-run pattern of Alaska's real per capita personal income growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1959-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 64-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average. On average, Alaska's real per capita personal income grew at an annual rate of 1.79% over 1959-2022. The state posted its highest growth in 1975 (17.17%) and posted its lowest growth in 1987 (-6.24%). In 2022, Alaska's real per capita personal income declined by -1.82% Alaska Real Per Capita Personal Income: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1959-2022  Figure 5. Over the past six decades some states have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 5 again depicts the annual percent change in Alaska's real per capita personal income since 1959, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1960s, Alaska's annual real per capita personal income growth rate averaged 3.35%. It averaged 3.51% in the 1970s, -0.05% throughout the 1980s, 0.75% during the 1990s, 2.49% throughout the 2000s, 1.01% during the 2010s, 0.37% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Real Per Capita Personal Income Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade  Figure 6. Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for Alaska noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for the nation. Relative to nationwide real per capita personal income growth trends, Alaska lagged the nation over the 1960s (3.35% vs. 3.49%), outgained the nation during the 1970s (3.51% vs. 2.37%), lagged the nation throughout the 1980s (-0.05% vs. 2.19%), posted below the nation over the 1990s (0.75% vs. 2.01%), exceeded the nation during the 2000s (2.49% vs. 1.10%), fell under the nation over the 2010s (1.01% vs. 1.97%), and trailed the nation over 2020-2022 (0.37% vs. 1.78%).
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