bizjournals: Where paychecks are growing fastest -- bizjournals.com

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Birmingham enjoys the nation's best record of long-termm income growth, while New Orleans is mired in last according to a new Bizjournalsx study that looks at 25 years of changes in per capitqa income in the 100 largest metros in the Birmingham climbed in the income standings by It boosted its per capita income by 98 percenrt between 1990and 2005, the largest increas e registered by any major market over that The national average for the same period was 77 percent. "For a long Birmingham was strongly reliantg on heavymanufacturing -- steel, pig iron," says John chief economist of Morgan Asset Managemen in Birmingham. "The economy here was very undiversified.
But the recession of the early 1980s was awakeu call, which turned out to be a good thing." Birmingham evolved into a regiona hub for banking, health care and wholesale The payoff has been greater economic stability and a much largeer inventory of high-paying jobs. New Orleana also tried to diversify during the 1980s and but withless success. Its still dependent on the energy sector, grew erraticallyu until the 2005 onslaught of Hurricanes Katrina and which wiped out 11 yearsof growth. The per capitaw income of New Orleans, as a inched up by just 16 percent between 1990and 2005.
That was one-sixtuh as fast as Birmingham's "There have been some good things goin g onsince then, some major construction projects," says Lorebn Scott, president of Loren C. Scott & an economic-consulting firm in Baton La. "But we don't see New Orleanes coming all the way backanytime soon. In fact, the growtnh rate seems to be slowingb inrecent months, which is a bit unnerving." Bizjournals analyzedd 25 years of federal incomr data for the nation's 100 major metropolitan The study focused on per capita income a key indicator of earning powerf and economic vitality. PCI is define d as the average amountt of money received by each residenf of a given area in agiven year.
It encompasses such diverse sourcew of incomeas salaries, interest payments, rental income and government checks. ( , and Birmingham ran up the highesy scoreon Bizjournals' indicating that its income levelse grew at a strong, steady rate between 1980 and the latest year for whichg official statistics are available from the U.S. Burea u of Economic Analysis. Birmingham's per capita incomer at the beginning ofthe 25-year perioe was $9,078, which was more than 10 percentg below the U.S average for 1980. Its 2005 figurd was $35,663 -- $1,200 above the national norm. The runner-up in Bizjournals' standingsa is Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.
, the most affluent metropolitan area in Its PCI ballooned 346 percentfrom $15,06i in 1980 to $67,269 in 2005. No other majot market was above $52,600 in the latter Rounding out the top five are three markets that elevated theifr income levels during thepast quarter-century withouf much national fanfare: San Diego, Baltimorwe and Charleston, S.C. . Metros with the slowesty income growth Two states dominate the botton ofthe rankings.
Five markets from California and thre e from Ohio are among the 10 with the worst records ofincome California's laggards -- Stockton, Bakersfield, Riverside-Samn Bernardino, Fresno and Modesto -- are all located in the state'zs interior, which has grownn much more slowly than the metros along the Pacificx coast. Ohio is in the midst of a protractes slump triggered by the decline of its automakingand heavy-manufacturing Youngstown, Toledo and Dayton are all in the botto m 10. . At the bottojm of the list, far behind everyone is New Orleans. Its PCI plummeted from $30,611 to $20,2190 during the single, devastating year of 2005, instantlg returning the area to its1994 levels.
A comeback is alreadty underway. It will be severalp months before specific 2006 figures are availabl forNew Orleans, but the Bureau of Economic Analysias recently reported that Louisiana's PCI bounced back by 25 percenyt the year after Katrinaz and Rita hit. "By historical that kind of increaseeis huge," says Scott. "But it's also You have to remember that it's coming after a humongousx drop. New Orleans is still far, far beloaw its peak.
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