National Trends
Table 1 shows that the average metro area in the nation, weighting for population size,
enjoyed increasing prosperity, with the mean MPI rising from .25 to .80. (This means that
for the average indicator used in the index, values rose by more than half of a standard
deviation.) To illustrate the magnitude of improvement, Table 1 lists values of the three
income components of the MPI. These reveal how different segments of the population fared:
- Per capita income is the total income divided by the total number of persons in the
metro area. It is especially sensitive to increases in the incomes of the very wealthy. On
average, per capita income increased by 12.8%.
- Median household income is the income of the household in the very middle of the income
distribution, the “typical” household. It increased about half as much as per
capita income (6.7%). In other words, average Americans experienced some gains, but not as
much as the wealthy.
- Percent below the poverty line is based on the number of persons in households whose
income is below that designated as “poor” by the federal government. The poverty
rate in the average metro area declined only slightly (just under .3%).
Table 1. Economic Prosperity in the Nation and by Region
|
Mumford
Prosperity Index |
Per capita
Income |
Median
Income |
Percent
Below Poverty |
|
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
National |
.80 |
.25 |
$22,729 |
$19,911 |
$45,418 |
$42,382 |
11.84 |
12.12 |
Change |
(+.55) |
(+$2,818) |
(+3,036) |
(-.28) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Northeast |
.94 |
.48 |
$24,492 |
$21,951 |
$47,775 |
$46,428 |
11.39 |
10.44 |
Change |
(+.46) |
(+$2,541) |
(+1,347) |
(+.95) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Midwest |
.97 |
.28 |
$22,830 |
$19,158 |
$45,840 |
$41,489 |
9.91 |
11.40 |
Change |
(+.69) |
(+$3,672) |
(+4,351) |
(-1.49) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South |
.67 |
.05 |
$21,613 |
$18,526 |
$42,234 |
$38,418 |
12.67 |
13.86 |
Change |
(+.62) |
(+$3,087) |
(+3,816) |
(-1.19) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
West |
.72 |
.28 |
$22,634 |
$20,517 |
$47,372 |
$44,696 |
12.75 |
12.07 |
Change |
(+.44) |
(+$2,117) |
(+2,676) |
(+.68) |
Source :
Lewis Mumford Center, 2002
There was strong improvement in educational levels, with the college-educated
increasing from 22.2% to 26.6% of the over-25 population. More dramatically, the share
working in professional and managerial jobs grew from 27.7% to 35.0%. It is surprising, in
light of this remarkable upgrading of the quality of the labor force, that the average
household did not experience greater income gains. To some extent this is the result of
people’s needing higher qualifications to earn about the same wages as they earned in
1990.
But the opportunity to work improved slightly, evidenced by a fall in the percent
unemployed from 6.1% to 5.7%. There were also small gains in the housing market: a decline
in the average vacancy rate from 8.2% to 7.0% and an increase in homeownership from 62.0%
to 64.1%.
|