| ← Median Household Income Trends: Adirondack Park vs Rural America | ↑Table of Contents | Per Capita Income Trends: Adirondack Park vs United States → |
Key Findings
The Park Towns’ increase in per capita income of +109.6% from 1970 to 2020 exceeded the New York State increase of +73.9% and the national increase of +74.5%.
The Park Towns’ increase in per capita income from 1970 to 2020 exceeded that of 1,533 rural counties, home to 85% of the population of Rural America.
The Park Towns’ per capita income in 2020 of $36,286 exceeded the national level of $30,647 and that of other rural areas, but lagged behind the New York State level of $36,155.
The Park Towns’ 2020 per capita income was higher than that of 1,758 rural counties, home to 89% of the residents of Rural America.
Table 4: Change in Per Capita Income in New York and U.S., 1970–2020 (inflation adjusted)
| Area | 1970 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York State | $20,795 | $36,155 | +73.9% |
| Rural NY Towns | $15,931 | $32,650 | +104.9% |
| Park Towns | $17,314 | $36,286 | +109.6% |
| Split Towns | $17,717 | $32,322 | +82.4% |
| United States | $17,567 | $30,647 | +74.5% |
An analysis of per capita income trends is useful for evaluating differences between regions. When adjusted for inflation, per capita income is an important measurement, though not as good as median household income, because it is skewed by a few extremely high incomes. Per capita income rose across the U.S. from 1970 to 2020. Table 4 (above) shows that New York State rose by +73.9% and the U.S. rose by +74.5%.
The Park Towns’ increase of +109.6% was similar to the growth of the Split Towns (+82.4%) and the Rural New York towns (+104.9%). All of these areas exceeded the state and national levels of growth. The maps on these two pages compare the growth in per capita income of the Park Towns with New York and the U.S. In both cases, from 1970 to 2020, the Park Towns saw a rate of growth higher than that of areas of New York State with 80% of the state’s population, and higher than that of areas of the U.S. with 81% of the population.
Figure 18: Comparison of changes in per capita income from 1970 to 2020 between the Park Towns and New York State towns, cities, and boroughs
From 1970 to 2020, 74% of the towns, etc., in New York State had a lower growth in per capita income than did the Park Towns. These places were home to 15.9 million people, 80% of New York State’s population.
666 New York State towns, etc., with lower growth in per capita income from 1970 to 2020 than that of the Park Towns
237 New York State towns, etc., with higher growth in per capita income from 1970 to 2020 than that of the Park Towns
Figure 19: Comparison of per capita income in 2020 between the Park Towns and New York State towns, cities, and boroughs
In 2020, 59% of towns, etc., in New York State had a lower per capita income than did the Park Towns. These places were home to 5.3 million people, 26% of New York State's population.
537 New York State towns, etc., with a per capita income in 2020 that was lower than that of the Park Towns
368 New York State towns, etc., with a per capita income in 2020 that was higher than that of the Park Towns