On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released estimates of real personal income for 2013 which showed that Maine experienced some of the highest income growth in the country.
According to the BEA estimates, Maine’s real personal income (in chained 2009 dollars) increased by 1.9% from 2012 to 2013, which was the 7th highest growth rate in the country, and the highest in New England. Real personal income for the U.S. increased by just 0.8%, meaning Maine’s economy grew at a faster rate than the broader U.S. economy.
This is a significant increase in growth for Maine, as between 2011 and 2012, the state experienced virtually no growth in real personal income.
Maine’s real per capita personal income also increased by 1.9% between 2012 and 2013, which was the second highest rate in the U.S. The total personal income and per capita personal income increased by the same percentage because Maine experienced almost no population change from 2012 to 2013.
The most growth income in Maine was in the Bangor metropolitan area, which experienced real personal income growth of 1.4% and real per capita personal income growth of 1.5%
The Portland-South Portland metropolitan area saw total real personal income increase by 0.9%, but due to strong population growth, only saw real per capita personal income grow by .6%.
The Lewiston-Auburn metropolitan area also saw real personal income and real per capita growth of 0.8%
Additionally, Maine had a regional price parity of 97.7 in 2013, which meant that the prices for goods and services were relatively lower in Maine than the national average.
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