UF Report: Three Florida Metro Areas’ Per Capita Income Rank In Top 20

June 25, 1999

GAINESVILLE —Three South Florida coastal metro areas rank in the top 20 nationally in per capita personal income, while the state’s poorest individuals tend to reside in more remote northern counties, according to the latest report on income released today by University of Florida economists.

The West Palm Beach-Boca Raton metropolitan area, with a per capita personal income of $38,772, ranks the highest in Florida and third in the nation, behind San Francisco and the Connecticut metropolitan area of New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury and Waterbury, the report shows.

The Naples area, with a per capita income of $36,210, captured the nation’s seventh spot, while Sarasota-Bradenton is 16th with $31,792.

The 1997 figures are part of a document titled The Florida Personal Income Handbook 1999, compiled by UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. It shows the national ranking in per capita personal income for Florida’s 20 metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs.

Ocala, with a per capita personal income of $19,723, is the lowest-ranking Florida metropolitan area, at 271st among the nation’s 316 MSAs.

In addition to metro areas, the report details per capita income in each of Florida’s 67 counties.

“There is no real definitive reason why earnings seem to be growing slightly faster in the coastal region,” said Janet Galvez, the bureau’s director of information and publication services. “Certainly the cost of living is higher there, but I think there’s enough diversity among the top 10 and bottom 10 counties that trying to draw some conclusions is a little bit difficult.”

Union County has the lowest per capita income with $11,077. It is the only county with a per capita income less than half that of the state average of $24,799, but these numbers are affected by a disproportionately large inmate population, according to Galvez.

Also among the lowest ranks, from the bottom up, are Hamilton ($12,980), Dixie ($13,309), Gilchrist ($13,648), Holmes, ($13,817) Liberty, ($13,868) Calhoun ($14,072), Glades ($14,400), Lafayette ($14,524) and Madison ($14,682) counties. Only Glades is in South Florida.

In contrast, Florida’s five wealthiest counties for 1997 are Palm Beach ($38,772), Martin ($36,301), Collier ($36,210), Sarasota ($35,654) and Indian River ($34,997).

The next highest five counties, all with per capita personal income above the state average, are St. Johns ($31,458), Monroe ($29,657), Pinellas ($28,367), Broward ($27,661) and Manatee ($26,857).

Florida’s per capita personal income was higher than that of the Southeast ($22,751), but lower than the nation as a whole ($25,288). It increased from 1996 by a rate of 4 percent, with 4.4 percent for the Southeast and 4.7 percent for the nation.

Personal income is income received by people from all sources, including private and government wages and salaries, personal dividends, interest, rental earnings and transfer payments.

The per capita income figures are from the U.S. Department of Commerce and are distributed by the bureau.