NYC Has 9th Highest Income in Country

According to the latest figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, New York City ranks as the 9th highest per capita income in the country. The metro (NYC, northern NJ, and Long Island) NYC region's average salary is $40,899, vs. the national average of $31,472. The NY Post makes a point of saying how "New Yorkers are way behind their neighbors to the northwest in the stately suburbs surrounding Stamford, Conn., whose $60,803 per capita income was tops in the nation." Oh, please, everyone knows that's where the i bankers with families move. San Francisco is second, with a salary of just over $46,000, while southern Jersey is 7th. What Gothamist finds funny about stats like these is that people suddenly worry, "Hey, why isn't my city making more?" but there are probably lots of salary not being reported. We're going to try to dig around for more info, as we couldn't find the exact report. And it's not like anyone's beating down a path to Stamford.

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By Jen Chung in News on April 29, 2005 8:08 AM

Comments [rss]

freelancer

Hey, HR, I make way more than the average NYC income and can support a family on welfare from my writing income. So take your illiterate, ignorant bullshit resentments (toward people who do what they love and aren't owned by anyone) to a red state. And, while you're there, ask for some spelling and grammar lessons.

Thegreatgoogler

For most of us in NYC, at least for the people on this blog, it is probably higher. Just because it's been calculated on a curve, taking in all of the bronx and the rest of the LIH areas, of which places like Stamford have none. So, disregarding that low income weight, we're probably in the top 1-2. I'd like to see a breakdown concentrating on just Manhattan. (And maybe...maybe brooklyn).

T.A.

Further, all the data are right here on the BEA's Web site -- easy as pie! Dig in.

http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/statelocal.htm

T.A.

Jen, the BEA's numbers are the most complete and solid stats in the entire federal playpen (the BEA are the ones who tabulate the GDP and trade balance accounts, the most complex of federal economic statistics, and their numbers are accepted by economists from Wall Street to the groves of academe). Second guesses about "unreported income" are just silly. What's more, any "unreported income" would probably be mathematically insignificant for the purposes of these calculations anyway.

mouse

The number that really matters is not average income, but average income compared to cost of living, don't you think? In that area, New Yorkers are even bigger losers (of income) because cost of living here is so high.