2004 redefinition of the BEA economic areas.

Johnson, Kenneth P. ; Kort, John R.

ON November 17, 2004, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released updated definitions of BEA economic areas that reflect changes in economic growth and population in the U.S. regions and that now include the newly recognized micropolitan areas. As a result, BEA's estimates of personal income for these economic areas continue to support statistical analyses that reflect current regional economic activity.

This release marks an advance in the timeliness of the redefinition of BEA economic areas by a full quarter. BEA's estimates of personal income for these areas are now consistent with the new standards for statistical areas that were released by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in February 2004 and with population data from the 2000 decennial census. The accelerated redefinition of BEA economic areas meets BEA's Strategic Plan goals of continually improving methodologies and of improving the consistency among accounts in the Federal statistical system.

BEA's economic areas define the relevant regional markets surrounding metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas. They consist of one or more economic nodes--metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas that serve as regional centers of economic activity--and the surrounding counties that are economically related to the nodes. These economic areas represent the relevant regional markets for labor, products, and information. They are mainly determined by labor commuting patterns that delineate local labor markets and that also serve as proxies for local markets where businesses in the areas sell their products. In less populated parts of the country, newspaper readership data are also used to measure the relevant regional markets. (1)

The redefinitions of the BEA economic areas are based on commuting data from the 2000 decennial population census, on redefined statistical areas from OMB (February 2004), and on newspaper circulation data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations for 2001. (2) This article describes the procedures that are used to disaggregate the Nation into economic areas, and it presents a sample of local area personal income estimates for the 179 new BEA economic areas.

The major highlights of the 2004 redefinition of the BEA economic areas are as follows:

* The number of BEA economic areas has increased from 172 to 179.

* The number of BEA component economic areas (CEAs) has decreased from 348 to 344.

* The redefinitions incorporate OMB's 2004 revised standards for metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and new standards that recognize, for the first time, micropolitan statistical areas.

Overview of the redefinition procedures

The BEA economic areas were redefined in three major phases: The identification of economic nodes, the assignment of counties to CEAs, and the aggregation of the CEAs to the BEA economic areas (chart 1). First, statistical areas from among those recently defined by OMB were identified to serve as nodes for the CEAs. As a result, 344 nodes were formed; these nodes consist of 1,311 counties from among the 3,141 counties and independent cities in the 2000 census of population. Second, the remaining 1,830 counties were assigned to 344 CEAs. Third, these CEAs were then aggregated to form 179 BEA economic areas. Throughout the three phases, linkages among counties, CEAs, and economic areas were developed in an iterative fashion, and assignments for all of the counties were "in play" until convergence was established. (3)

Identification of nodes

Economic nodes are metropolitan areas or micropolitan areas that serve as the main centers of economic activity. The regional economic nodes were identified in four steps. First, 107 of the 120 combined statistical areas (CSAs) that were identified by OMB include at least one metropolitan statistical area (MSA), and each of the 107 MSA-based CSAs was designated as a regional node. (4) Second, an additional 198 MSAs that were identified by OMB and that are not part of any CSA were designated as regional nodes. Together, the 305 MSA-based regional nodes consist of 1,233 counties.

Third, selected micropolitan statistical areas were provisionally identified as regional nodes if they were located in counties that were not in any of the MSA nodes and if they had one or more of the following characteristics:

* The selected area has a population of at least 50,000 in the 2000 census,

* The selected area consists of at least 3 counties, or

* The selected area consists of at least one county that serves as the primary source of newspaper readership for 5 or more counties.

A provisional micropolitan-statistical-area-based node was designated as a regional node only if it formed a preliminary area of at least 5 counties. Thirty-seven micropolitan-based nodes that consist of 76 counties were designated.

Finally, two economically isolated, but geographically large, single-county micropolitan areas were designated as nodes--Juneau in the Alaskan panhandle and Alpena in northern Michigan. (5) Altogether, 344 nodes were identified, and these nodes consist of 1,311 counties.

Assignment of counties to CEAs

In the next major phase, each of the 1,830 remaining counties was analyzed to determine the economic node to which it is most closely related. These counties were linked to the nodal counties to form CEAs in four steps. In each step, the counties assigned to a provisional CEA must be contiguous either to the CEA's node or to the counties that have already been assigned to its node.

First, about 70 percent of the 1,830 counties were provisionally assigned to nodes on the basis of their largest county-to-county commuting flows from the 2000 decennial census. A total of 1,295 counties were assigned provisional CEA links on the basis of this use of the census commuting data, and 535 counties lacked any CEA link at the end of this step.

Second, about 20 percent of the 1,830 counties were provisionally assigned to nodes based on the locations of the most widely read newspapers in these counties, using 2001 newspaper circulation data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The evaluation of potential news readership links for all counties without a CEA link continued through numerous iterations until no additional provisional CEA assignments were possible. A total of 381 counties were given provisional CEA links on the basis of this use of newspaper readership data, and 154 counties (8 percent) lacked any CEA link at the end of this step.

Third, commuting information for the remaining 154 counties was again examined to determine if the counties assigned in the second step provided any indirect commuting links to a provisional CEA for any of these unassigned counties. An additional 57 counties (3 percent) were given provisional CEA links on the basis of such indirect commuting links, but 97 counties (5 percent) lacked any CEA link at the end of this step. These remaining counties generally are economically small and geographically remote from urban settlements, and the main commuting link for each is to another county in the group of 97 counties.

Fourth, in order to extend the application of the commuting data, these 97 counties were first grouped to form contiguous geographic units (pseudocounties), and a main county place of work was identified for each unit. All of these pseudocounties were contiguous with the provisional CEA that included their main place of work, and the CEA link for each county in each geographic unit was set equal to that of the main place of work for the unit as a whole.

The county-to-county relationships that were used to define provisional CEAs do not guarantee the prime objective that each county is assigned to the CEA to which it has the most commuting. The final assignment of counties to CEAs was based on an analysis of county-to-CEA commuting to identify and, if possible, to modify cases where this objective was not achieved. In a few cases, a desired reassignment could not be accomplished, because the required contiguity did not exist or because the reassignment would have created a break in contiguity in the CEA from which the county would have been moved.

During the finalization process, the CEA boundaries were continuously changing, so it was necessary to iteratively repeat the analysis and to reevaluate all 1,830 counties until no further reassignments were possible. This analysis resulted in changes for 237 counties. The resulting set of 344 final CEAs minimizes, to the extent possible, the amount of commuting across the boundaries of the CEAs.

Final economic areas

In the third major phase, the 344 CEAs were used as building blocks to form the new 179 BEA economic areas. The two major factors that were used in the aggregation process were commuting patterns and economic and geographic size. Specifically, the CEAs were aggregated to form economic areas so that, to the extent possible, each economic area is a region of sufficient size to support regional statistical analyses and each economic area is a labor market that is independent of other labor markets.

To limit labor market interdependence, the maximum rate of total outcommuting for an economic area was set at 8 percent, and the maximum rate of commuting from one economic area to any other economic area was set at 4 percent. (6)

On the basis of the criteria established in the 1995 redefinition, a CEA generally was considered to be too small economically or geographically to form an independent economic area if it had one of the following characteristics:

* The CEA has fewer than 50,000 employed residents, or

* The CEA consists of fewer than 10 counties and has fewer than 100,000 employed residents, or

* The CEA consists of fewer than five counties and has fewer than 250,000 employed residents, or

* The CEA consists of fewer than three counties and has fewer than 500,000 employed residents.

Economic areas generally were required to satisfy these criteria, but selected exceptions were allowed. CEAs (or groups of CEAs) that have at least 500,000 employed residents or that consist of at least 10 counties were not merged if the net commuting for the area was less than 1 percent. In addition, a CEA (or a group of CEAs) that exceeded 10,000 square miles in area in the coterminous United States was not merged with others unless it had a total outcommuting rate of more than 12 percent or a commuting rate to another alternative economic area of more than 6 percent.

Of the 344 final CEAs, 153 satisfied all of the size and commuting criteria and were qualified to be designated as economic areas, and an additional 14 CEAs were deemed to be either large enough in area or in number of counties, so that they were also qualified to be designated as economic areas. Each of the remaining 177 CEAs was then merged with the CEA to which it had the strongest commuting link.

This merging process continued iteratively until all of the remaining CEAs or groups of CEAs met the above criteria. The set of 179 newly redefined BEA economic areas are shown in charts 2 and 3, and the names, economic area codes, and personal income data for all of the BEA economic areas are shown in table 1. BEA's local area personal income estimates for these redefined BEA economic areas are available on BEA's Web site at <www.bea.gov>.

Table 1. Personal Income and Per Capita Personal Income by Economic
Area, 2000-2002

 Personal
 income

 Millions
 of
 dollars

Code Area name 2000

 United States (3) 8,422,074
 BEA Economic Areas
 001 Aberdeen, SD 2,013
 002 Abilene, TX 5,077
 003 Albany, GA 11,657
 004 Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam, NY 38,921
 005 Albuquerque, NM 19,572
 006 Alpena, MI 5,399
 007 Amarillo, TX 11,085
 008 Anchorage, AK 18,741
 009 Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI 22,006
 010 Asheville-Brevard, NC 14,927
 011 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL 186,322
 012 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 13,303
 013 Austin-Round Rock, TX 43,572
 014 Bangor, ME 7,442
 015 Baton Rouge-Pierre Part, LA 17,801
 016 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 10,523
 017 Bend-Prineville, OR 4,232
 018 Billings, MT 8,018
 019 Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, AL 42,316
 020 Bismarck, ND 4,135
 021 Boise City-Nampa, ID 15,460
 022 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH 294,818
 023 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY 39,070
 024 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 10,472
 025 Cape Girardeau-Jackson, MO-IL 6,182
 026 Casper, WY 9,056
 027 Cedar Rapids, IA 13,509
 028 Champaign-Urbana, IL 12,599
 029 Charleston, WV 26,405
 030 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 14,666
 031 Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC 68,303
 032 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI 341,957
 033 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN 65,677
 034 Clarksburg, WV+Morgantown, WV 6,763
 035 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 133,611
 036 Colorado Springs, CO 17,280
 037 Columbia, MO 10,954
 038 Columbia-Newberry, SC 23,345
 039 Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL 9,603
 040 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH 67,701
 041 Corpus Christi-Kingsville, TX 15,069
 042 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 210,864
 043 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 12,864
 044 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 38,187
 045 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO 123,323
 046 Des Moines-Newton-Pella, IA 32,113
 047 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 219,333
 048 Dothan-Enterprise-Ozark, AL 6,362
 049 Dover, DE 11,614
 050 Duluth, MN-WI 8,736
 051 El Paso, TX 18,454
 052 Erie, PA 12,338
 053 Eugene-Springfield, OR. 18,058
 054 Evansville, IN-KY 18,646
 055 Forgo-Wahpeton, ND-MN 7,241
 056 Farmington, NM 4,177
 057 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 9,075
 058 Flagstaff, AZ 2,793
 059 Fort Smith, AR-OK 6,703
 060 Fort Wayne-Huntington-Auburn, IN 20,125
 061 Fresno-Madera, CA 29,608
 062 Gainesville, FL 8,858
 063 Grand Forks, ND-MN 5,168
 064 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI 48,474
 065 Great Falls, MT 3,293
 066 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC 47,853
 067 Greenville, NC 14,728
 068 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC 31,448
 069 Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 9,129
 070 Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon, PA 55,162
 071 Harrisonburg, VA 6,590
 072 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT 72,818
 073 Helena, MT 5,351
 074 Honolulu, HI 34,451
 075 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 180,346
 076 Huntsville-Decatur, AL 23,864
 077 Idaho Falls-Blackfoot, ID 60,441
 078 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 88,343
 079 Jacksonville, FL 40,675
 080 Jackson-Yazoo City, MS 34,520
 081 Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol (Tri-Cities), TN-
 VA 18,077
 082 Jonesboro, AR 5,880
 083 Joplin, MO 7,565
 084 Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS 71,021
 085 Kearney, NE 7,485
 086 Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA 11,036
 087 Killeen-Temple Fort Hood, TX 13,389
 088 Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 25,815
 089 La Crosse, WI-MN 5,799
 090 Lafayette-Acadiana, LA 17,066
 091 Lake Charles-Jennings, LA 6,913
 092 Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump, NV 47,482
 093 Lewiston, ID-WA 2,031
 094 Lexington-Fayette-Frankfort-Richmond, KY 31,870
 095 Lincoln, NE 10,490
 096 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR 33,442
 097 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA 525,065
 098 Louisville-Elizabethtown-Sconsburg, KY-IN 40,614
 099 Lubbock-Levelland, TX 9,330
 100 Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley, GA 13,854
 101 Madison-Baraboo, WI 30,794
 102 Marinette, WI-MI 7,357
 103 Mason City, IA 4,098
 104 McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, TX 13,603
 105 Memphis,TN-MS-AR 49,239
 106 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL 175,245
 107 Midland-Odessa, TX 12,342
 108 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI 70,038
 109 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI 157,134
 110 Minot, ND 3,095
 111 Missoula, MT 5,932
 112 Mobile-Daphne-Fairhope, AL 15,369
 113 Monroe-Bastrop,LA 6,814
 114 Montgomery-Alexander City, AL 12,564
 115 Myrtle Beach-Conway-Georgetown, SC 20,698
 116 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Columbia, TN 65,000
 117 New Orleans-Metairie-Bogalusa, LA. 42,752
 118 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,NY-NJ-CT-PA 884,651
 119 Oklahoma City-Shawnee, OK 45,690
 120 Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA 29,207
 121 Orlando-The Villages, FL 92,282
 122 Paducah, KY-IL 5,728
 123 Panama City-Lynn Haven, FL 5,511
 124 Pendleton-Hermiston, OR 3,032
 125 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 15,068
 126 Peoria-Canton, IL 22,647
 127 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 222,768
 128 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 101,690
 129 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA 86,625
 130 Portland-Lewiston-South Portland, ME 25,731
 131 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA 81,603
 132 Pueblo, CO 5,100
 133 Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC 73,115
 134 Rapid City, SD 5,031
 135 Redding, CA 7,619
 136 Reno-Sparks, NV 18,860
 137 Richmond, VA 42,889
 138 Roanoke, VA 18,200
 139 Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY 41,859
 140 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV 68,187
 141 Salina, KS 4,781
 142 Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, UT 51,232
 143 San Angelo, TX 3,124
 144 San Antonio, TX 50,935
 145 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 92,654
 146 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 385,962
 147 Santa Fe-Espanola, NM 6,481
 148 Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL 48,095
 149 Savannah-Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA 17,318
 150 Scotts Bluff, NE 2,141
 151 Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA 16,740
 152 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 145,160
 153 Shreveport-Bossier City-Minden, LA 12,005
 154 Sioux City-Vermillion, IA-NE-SD 9,249
 155 Sioux Falls, SD 12,055
 156 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 23,813
 157 Spokane, WA 17,716
 158 Springfield, IL 16,221
 159 Springfield, MO 19,143
 160 St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 95,747
 161 State College, PA 18,145
 162 Syracuse-Auburn, NY 48,602
 163 Tallahassee, FL 11,248
 164 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 68,891
 165 Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR 6,397
 166 Toledo-Fremont,OH 26,907
 167 Topeka, KS 11,259
 168 Traverse City, MI 6,340
 169 Tucson, AZ 23,494
 170 Tulsa-Bartlesville, OK 32,977
 171 Tupelo, MS 10,723
 172 Twin Falls, ID 3,873
 173 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 45,741
 174 Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-
 WV 305,623
 175 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 5,367
 176 Wausau-Merrill, WI 12,787
 177 Wenatchee, WA 5,044
 178 Wichita Falls, TX 4,550
 179 Wichita-Winfield, KS 26,796

 Per capita
 Personal income personal income
 (1)
 Precent
 Millions of dollars change (2) Dollars

Code 2001 2002 2001-2002 2000 2001

 8,703,023 8,900,007 2.3 29,847 30,527

 001 2,097 2,041 -2.7 24,437 25,732
 002 4,943 5,139 4.0 22,846 22,557
 003 12,123 12,720 4.9 20,111 20,770
 004 40,316 41,591 3.2 28,955 29,944
 005 21,219 22,180 4.5 25,244 27,118
 006 5,635 5,801 2.9 22,848 23,621
 007 11,374 11,482 1.0 24,009 24,663
 008 20,142 21,040 4.5 29,863 31,837
 009 22,658 23,398 3.3 27,812 28,384
 010 15,223 15,643 2.8 24,412 24,684
 011 193,679 197,821 2.1 30,081 30,529
 012 13,901 14,407 3.6 23,361 24,298
 013 45,686 45,293 -0.9 31,839 32,012
 014 7,848 8,174 4.2 23,126 24,433
 015 18,538 19,231 3.7 24,023 24,918
 016 10,761 11,133 3.5 23,063 23,701
 017 4,504 4,709 4.5 24,883 25,735
 018 8,453 8,667 2.5 24,229 25,564
 019 44,590 46,216 3.6 25,779 27,065
 020 4,331 4,316 -0.4 24,514 25,795
 021 16,054 16,568 3.2 27,071 27,314
 022 305,511 308,557 1.0 36,679 37,700
 023 39,558 40,659 2.8 25,938 26,360
 024 11,057 11,368 2.8 28,069 29,424
 025 6,414 6,630 3.4 21,134 21,925
 026 9,587 9,897 3.2 29,466 31,226
 027 13,894 14,183 2.1 28,793 29,353
 028 13,038 13,265 1.7 23,786 24,615
 029 27,611 28,560 3.4 21,870 22,985
 030 15,201 15,966 5.0 24,912 25,619
 031 70,667 72,648 2.8 28,467 28,884
 032 349,682 353,876 1.2 34,091 34,570
 033 67,319 69,177 2.8 29,658 30,206
 034 7,145 7,443 4.2 21,423 22,643
 035 134,452 136,757 1.7 28,470 28,677
 036 17,879 18,235 2.0 28,501 28,685
 037 11,386 11,674 2.5 23,877 24,674
 038 23,976 24,694 3.0 24,555 25,053
 039 10,139 10,498 3.5 22,367 23,497
 040 69,921 72,067 3.1 27,432 28,074
 041 15,911 16,612 4.4 19,804 20,784
 042 217,833 221,840 1.8 31,421 31,689
 043 13,129 13,394 2.0 26,437 27,029
 044 38,761 39,342 1.5 27,407 27,879
 045 128,840 129,651 0.6 34,880 35,610
 046 33,167 34,236 3.2 27,333 28,113
 047 218,920 221,512 1.2 31,451 31,266
 048 6,831 7,074 3.6 21,719 23,330
 049 12,199 12,712 4.2 23,588 24,425
 050 8,986 9,344 4.0 24,948 25,608
 051 19,563 20,673 5.7 18,199 19,167
 052 12,368 12,621 2.1 23,773 23,863
 053 18,663 19,354 3.7 24,262 24,959
 054 19,237 19,687 2.3 25,082 25,883
 055 7,325 7,651 4.4 26,358 26,713
 056 4,472 4,653 4.1 21,366 22,518
 057 9,818 10,331 5.2 22,258 23,520
 058 2,928 3,084 5.3 22,762 23,712
 059 7,132 7,269 1.9 21,076 22,302
 060 20,301 20,686 1.9 26,041 26,179
 061 31,259 33,078 5.8 20,540 21,358
 062 9,243 9,592 3.8 21,106 21,812
 063 5,168 5,439 5.2 24,246 24,538
 064 49,313 50,357 2.1 26,326 26,546
 065 3,382 3,521 4.1 22,283 23,072
 066 48,502 49,347 1.7 26,561 26,694
 067 15,051 15,517 3.1 23,700 24,223
 068 32,233 32,769 1.7 25,111 25,475
 069 9,412 9,709 3.2 22,956 23,506
 070 56,389 58,218 3.2 27,410 27,907
 071 6,965 7,079 1.6 22,694 23,871
 072 75,047 76,842 2.4 33,099 33,974
 073 5,641 5,887 4.4 23,414 24,583
 074 35,147 37,064 5.5 28,417 28,690
 075 190,387 194,124 2.0 32,089 33,231
 076 24,925 25,498 2.3 23,877 24,821
 077 6,400 6,687 4.5 20,419 21,453
 078 90,636 92,368 1.9 27,889 28,406
 079 41,766 43,459 4.1 27,414 27,647
 080 36,181 37,190 2.8 20,762 21,764
 081 18,874 19,465 3.1 21,189 22,200
 082 6,116 6,219 1.7 19,342 20,140
 083 7,874 8,031 2.0 21,061 21,882
 084 73,002 74,810 2.5 29,247 29,801
 085 7,906 7,993 1.1 23,129 24,520
 086 11,667 12,257 5.1 23,249 24,345
 087 13,959 14,615 4.7 22,144 22,926
 088 26,905 28,099 4.4 23,792 24,578
 089 6,103 6,356 4.2 23,934 25,089
 090 18,422 18,949 2.9 21,267 22,940
 091 7,367 7,579 2.9 20,579 21,994
 092 49,103 51,652 5.2 27,627 27,426
 093 2,111 2,181 3.3 22,966 24,124
 094 32,703 33,753 3.2 22,078 22,566
 095 10,812 11,070 2.4 27,590 28,296
 096 35,133 36,076 2.7 22,910 24,003
 097 550,828 569,073 3.3 29,007 29,956
 098 42,015 42,921 2.2 27,793 28,567
 099 9,503 9,807 3.2 22,693 23,052
 100 14,501 15,211 4.9 22,760 23,656
 101 32,003 33,272 4.0 28,279 29,154
 102 7,534 7,712 2.4 21,580 22,175
 103 4,207 4,380 4.1 24,499 25,382
 104 14,623 15,642 7.0 13,815 14,477
 105 51,580 53,038 2.8 25,500 26,601
 106 182,639 188,723 3.3 31,157 31,913
 107 12,810 13,056 1.9 23,086 24,081
 108 72,149 73,730 2.2 31,023 31,870
 109 162,441 166,660 2.6 32,082 32,786
 110 3,162 3,276 3.6 23,452 24,279
 111 6,308 6,611 4.8 22,239 23,392
 112 15,875 16,245 2.3 21,965 22,588
 113 71,551 7,428 3.8 20,442 21,592
 114 13,154 13,646 3.7 23,486 24,570
 115 21,663 22,211 2.5 23,490 24,297
 116 67,326 69,607 3.4 26,579 27,224
 117 45,568 47,240 3.7 24,786 26,440
 118 908,417 913,952 0.6 39,568 40,341
 119 47,518 48,711 2.5 24,161 25,068
 120 30,386 31,164 2.6 29,968 30,998
 121 96,318 100,652 4.5 25,200 25,698
 122 5,823 5,910 1.5 23,834 24,306
 123 5,732 6,060 5.7 21,020 21,730
 124 3,101 3,237 4.4 21,412 22,000
 125 15,933 16,687 4.7 24,128 25,187
 126 23,261 23,704 1.9 26,301 27,059
 127 228,467 235,753 3.2 33,153 33,871
 128 105,648 109,080 3.2 26,821 27,083
 129 88,896 91,143 2.5 29,058 29,935
 130 27,041 28,133 4.0 26,930 28,066
 131 83,947 85,440 1.8 29,873 30,218
 132 5,287 5,429 2.7 22,028 22,674
 133 75,961 77,672 2.3 26,897 27,485
 134 5,322 5,462 2.6 22,431 23,611
 135 8,057 8,497 5.5 22,570 23,586
 136 19,705 20,196 2.5 31,250 32,032
 137 44,958 46,090 2.5 29,135 30,252
 138 18,885 19,412 2.8 24,143 24,979
 139 42,632 43,202 1.3 27,541 28,023
 140 72,158 75,149 4.1 28,805 29,657
 141 4,924 4,884 -0.8 23,988 24,939
 142 53,087 54,474 2.6 24,173 24,666
 143 3,273 3,349 2.3 22,357 23,646
 144 52,590 54,392 3.4 25,550 25,980
 145 97,141 101,293 4.3 32,797 33,926
 146 382,080 373,864 -2.2 42,064 41,099
 147 6,986 7,485 7.1 24,983 26,882
 148 52,136 54,491 4.5 32,826 34,569
 149 18,108 18,837 4.0 24,226 25,101
 150 2,207 2,256 2.2 22,816 23,786
 151 17,033 17,482 2.6 25,767 26,345
 152 148,821 151,885 2.1 34,722 35,099
 153 12,660 13,050 3.1 22,260 23,521
 154 9,627 9,685 0.6 24,245 25,294
 155 12,644 12,734 0.7 26,916 28,090
 156 24,261 24,983 3.0 25,388 25,795
 157 18,178 18,798 3.4 23,840 24,248
 158 16,736 16,980 1.5 25,670 26,531
 159 20,162 20,941 3.9 21,365 22,296
 160 98,164 100,786 2.7 29,386 30,025
 161 18,571 19,198 3.4 22,410 22,986
 162 49,454 51,118 3.4 24,173 24,590
 163 11,794 12,183 3.3 23,439 24,482
 164 71,522 73,986 3.4 28,655 29,263
 165 6,752 6,842 1.3 20,467 21,664
 166 27,151 27,712 2.1 26,854 27,071
 167 11,687 11,926 2.0 24,757 25,816
 168 6,471 6,669 3.1 23,952 24,113
 169 24,427 25,586 4.7 23,370 23,944
 170 34,659 35,515 2.5 26,317 27,476
 171 11,193 11,549 3.2 20,109 20,976
 172 4,229 4,410 4.3 23,810 25,893
 173 48,121 50,180 4.3 25,885 27,058
 174 322,787 333,469 3.3 36,579 38,011
 175 5,574 5,747 3.1 24,177 25,207
 176 13,262 13,744 3.6 24,581 25,440
 177 5,357 5,619 4.9 21,889 23,117
 178 4,701 4,874 3.7 23,532 24,590
 179 27,997 28,510 1.8 25,488 26,646

 Per capita
 personal
 income (1)

 Dollars Rank in U.S.

Code 2002 2002

 30,906
 001 25,206 109
 002 23,521 152
 003 21,732 174
 004 30,754 25
 005 27,845 58
 006 24,192 140
 007 24,850 121
 008 32,799 14
 009 29,046 40
 010 25,152 110
 011 30,562 28
 012 25,017 115
 013 31,099 22
 014 25,387 105
 015 25,670 95
 016 24,555 129
 017 26,150 88
 018 26,162 87
 019 27,979 54
 020 25,691 93
 021 27,546 64
 022 37,873 4
 023 27,165 69
 024 30,035 34
 025 22,559 166
 026 31,762 18
 027 29,751 36
 028 24,969 116
 029 23,797 148
 030 26,534 79
 031 29,218 38
 032 34,741 10
 033 30,883 23
 034 23,501 153
 035 29,181 39
 036 28,837 44
 037 25,067 113
 038 25,567 99
 039 24,125 142
 040 28,707 47
 041 21,441 176
 042 31,618 19
 043 27,610 63
 044 28,315 51
 045 35,253 6
 046 28,888 43
 047 31,555 21
 048 24,086 146
 049 25,034 114
 050 26,651 76
 051 20,071 178
 052 24,423 133
 053 25,615 97
 054 26,437 81
 055 27,901 56
 056 22,821 160
 057 24,232 136
 058 24,494 131
 059 22,567 165
 060 26,588 78
 061 22,142 172
 062 22,372 168
 063 26,008 89
 064 26,884 74
 065 24,120 143
 066 26,973 72
 067 24,855 119
 068 25,691 93
 069 24,156 141
 070 28,629 48
 071 24,096 144
 072 34,509 11
 073 25,511 102
 074 29,875 35
 075 33,142 13
 076 25,266 108
 077 22,237 171
 078 28,768 45
 079 28,210 52
 080 22,372 168
 081 22,849 159
 082 20,525 177
 083 22,322 170
 084 30,252 31
 085 24,829 122
 086 25,123 112
 087 23,775 149
 088 25,442 104
 089 26,005 90
 090 23,500 154
 091 22,724 163
 092 27,734 60
 093 24,852 120
 094 23,140 155
 095 28,736 46
 096 24,567 128
 097 30,453 29
 098 28,992 41
 099 23,764 150
 100 24,555 129
 101 30,038 33
 102 22,700 164
 103 26,619 77
 104 15,002 179
 105 27,222 67
 106 32,383 16
 107 24,397 134
 108 32,452 15
 109 33,331 12
 110 25,369 107
 111 24,216 138
 112 23,053 156
 113 22,423 167
 114 25,476 103
 115 24,582 127
 116 27,867 57
 117 27,345 66
 118 40,354 1
 119 25,539 100
 120 31,614 20
 121 26,209 85
 122 24,694 124
 123 22,755 162
 124 22,818 161
 125 25,926 91
 126 27,541 65
 127 34,760 9
 128 27,181 68
 129 30,776 24
 130 28,916 42
 131 30,261 30
 132 23,014 157
 133 27,667 61
 134 24,090 145
 135 24,480 132
 136 32,244 17
 137 30,664 27
 138 25,633 96
 139 28,367 50
 140 30,042 32
 141 24,969 116
 142 24,922 118
 143 24,210 139
 144 26,340 84
 145 34,872 8
 146 40,093 2
 147 28,376 49
 148 35,055 7
 149 25,695 92
 150 24,378 135
 151 27,146 70
 152 35,431 5
 153 24,224 137
 154 25,514 101
 155 28,181 53
 156 26,505 80
 157 24,806 123
 158 26,964 73
 159 22,905 158
 160 30,737 26
 161 23,723 151
 162 25,371 106
 163 25,145 111
 164 29,728 37
 165 21,920 173
 166 27,630 62
 167 26,436 82
 168 24,603 126
 169 24,632 125
 170 27,941 55
 171 21,649 175
 172 26,723 75
 173 27,835 59
 174 38,716 3
 175 26,171 86
 176 26,347 83
 177 24,049 147
 178 25,611 98
 179 27,086 71

(1.) Per capita personal income was computed using Census Bureau
midyear population estimates.

(2.) Percent change calculated from unrounded data.

(3.) The personal income level shown for the United States is derived
as the sum of the county estimates.

It differs from the estimate of personal income in the national income
and product accounts because of differences in coverage, in the
methodologies used to prepare the estimates, and in the timing of the
availability of source data.

(1.) County to-county commuting data come from the most recent decennial population census, and statistical area definitions are from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). First defined in 1969, major redefinitions of the BEA economic areas occurred in 1974, 1977, 1983, and 1995. For a complete discussion of the procedures used to define the 1995 economic areas, see Kenneth P. Johnson, "Redefinition of the BEA Economic Areas," SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS 75 (February 1995): 75-81.

(2.) See the box on OMB's standards in this article and "Standards for Defining Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas," Federal Register 65 (December 27, 2000): 82, 228-238.

(3.) Convergence in this case refers to a steady state in the assignments of counties to CEAs and of CEAs to economic areas, where no further assignments were possible that would further minimize cross-boundary commuting.

(4.) See the box "OMB's Standards for Statistical Areas." In order to maintain the historical orientation of the economic areas to OMB's metropolitan areas (to the extent possible), the 13 CSAs that consist of only micropolitan areas are never recognized as nodes.

(5.) Juneau, Alaska, and Alpena, Michigan, are economic centers for two unique groups of remote counties, Each group is substantial in land area and relative economic size, but neither group can be linked to any of the more conventionally defined nodes.

(6.) Outcommuting is the number (or percent) of workers living in an economic area whose place of work is located outside that economic area.

OMB's Standards for Statistical Areas

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) standardized definitions of urbanization-based statistical areas provide the foundation for BEA's economic area definitions. After each decennial census, OMB publishes the official standards for these areas, and according to these standards, the area definitions are reviewed and updated annually by the Census Bureau. The new standards published by OMB in 2000 recognize core based statistical areas (CBSAs)--a generic term for statistical areas that are based on urban cores with a population of 10,000 or more. CBSAs that have at least one urban core that exceeds 50,000 people are designated as metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and smaller CBSAs are designated as micropolitan statistical areas. In the current standards, neighboring (contiguous) CBSAs that meet OMB criteria for interdependence are grouped into larger areas that are designated as combined statistical areas (CSAs). The redefined BEA economic areas are based on the CSAs, MSAs, and micropolitan areas that were recognized in the February 18, 2004, OMB Bulletin No. 040-03, "Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Additional Guidance on Their Uses."

Additional Information

A complete discussion of the regional hierarchy that is associated with the economic areas is too voluminous to be presented in this article. The general order of the five levels of this hierarchy is

* Counties,

* Core based statistical areas, both metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and micropolitan statistical areas,

* Combined statistical areas,

* Component economic areas, and

* BEA economic areas.

At each level, coding and naming conventions are employed to ensure unique data processing and identification characteristics. Comprehensive code files with these five codes, five names, and an identifier for each MSA are available under the regional section at <www.bea.gov>.

A large-scale map and all of BENs local area personal income series for these new BEA economic area definitions are also available on BENs Web site.