Per Capita Personal Income in Linn and Benton Counties

July 15, 2024

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released new estimates of per capita personal income (PCPI) by county. Personal income data is not among the most current economic indicators – the “new” county estimates are for 2022. Despite the time lag in producing personal income data, they are still valuable for evaluating a county’s economic health.

Personal income data includes wage and salary income, but it also includes other sources of income. One other source of income is transfer payments from the government. Transfer payments include social security income, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid, welfare income, and student grants and loans received from the government. Personal income also includes interest, dividends, and capital gains that people receive. Farm income is another component captured in personal income data.

Benton County’s $55,325 per capita income level in 2022 exceeded Linn County but lags behind Oregon and the U.S. Linn County’s $52,469 per capita income level was significantly less than both the state and the nation.

Both counties and Oregon all had a gain in PCPI from 2021 to 2022. Benton County’s PCPI grew 1.3%, faster than Oregon but slower than the U.S. Linn County’s PCPI expanded 0.9%, slower than Oregon’s growth of 1.1% and the U.S. growth of 1.6%.

The long-term trend in PCPI is captured by looking at the annual average percent change from 2001 to 2022. Over that period, Benton County’s 3.1% per capita personal income growth was slower than Linn County’s 3.8% growth. Linn County was similar to Oregon’s 3.9% growth and the nation (3.7%).