Thu, October 01, 2009
Boston Income Growth Ranks Among Nation’s Top Ten
Bizjournals.com recently released its analysis of per capita income growth in the 100 largest US metro areas. Except for Bridgeport-Stamford, CT, Boston was the only metro area in New England ranked among the top 10 .
In fact, Boston just made it, coming in at the number 10 spot. The rankings were based on income growth during multiple periods of time over the last twenty-five years. The cities ranked ranged from New York, with a 2008 population of 19 million, to Modesto, CA (population 510,000). Boston (population 1.1 million) performed well in comparison with the rest of the country despite the loss of 68,500 jobs since the middle of 2008.
According to the analysis, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, per capita income (defined as the average amount of money received per area resident, including children, during a given year) in Boston reached $55,000 in 2008 and has grown 273% over the last 25 years.
After Bridgeport-Stamford (#3) and Boston, the next-highest ranked New England city was Portland, Maine at #23. Northeastern cities generally weren’t high overall in the rankings; New York city ranked #17, Philadelphia ranked 20th, and Providence, RI was 26th. The highest-ranked cities tended to be in the West and Southeast.
The city ranked number one is a bit of a surprise: New Orleans. Despite the economic damage done in 2005 by hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the city emerged with the highest composite score for income growth. New Orleans’ more recent income numbers are skewed, however, by the fact that many of the city’s poorest residents have left.
The Boston area’s income growth is encouraging, and the fact that housing prices have generally declined in the last few years means that price-to-income ratios for homes in many areas are closer to historical levels. This hasn’t resulted in a stampede for new housing purchases, but it does seem to be encouraging home buyers to test the waters. The Federal first-time homebuyer’s tax credit, which applies to qualifying home purchases closed before December 1 of this year, is also helping a little.