Salaries in Texas are growing faster than New York
Towns at the heart of the American oil boom saw massive growth.
Americans' salaries are growing much faster in small, oil-boom towns in Texas than they are in New York City, according to new figures from the Commerce Department.
In Midland, Texas -- a base for Permian basin shale production -- the per capita personal income was $122,247 a year. That's the highest out of all 374 metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and New York last year, according to the data. Bloomberg first reported the news.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Both Midland and Odessa, another shale town at the heart of the American oil resurgence, reported the fastest growth, at 17.4 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.
WARREN'S TAX PLAN COULD BRING RATES OVER 100% FOR SOME BILLIONAIRES
Still, personal income in other cities continued to far outpace that of Midland and Odessa. Personal income in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area almost hit a staggering $1.5 trillion last year, while personal income in Midland hovered around $21 million. In Odessa, where personal income was close to $7.6 million, the difference was even more stark.
Odessa, the county seat of Ector County, Texas.
Second to New York was Los Angeles, where personal income climbed to almost $850 million, or about 4.8 percent share of the U.S. total.
For the fifth year in a row, per capita personal income, or total pay divided by population, grew faster in metropolitan areas last year (at 4.9 percent, up from 4.1 percent in 2017) than in rural and small towns (4.7 percent, up from 3.3 percent). Personal income decreased in only 91 counties, compared to 3,019 that saw increases.
For Americans living in metropolitan areas, per capita personal income averaged $56,527. That fell to $41,552 for individuals living in rural or small towns.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS