(July 2026) Per capita income is one area of improvement in the 21st century.
In the last quarter of the 20th century, Arkansas per capita disposable (after-tax) income (1) was stuck in a narrow range between 77.2% (1975) and 79.0% (1999) of the U.S. average, with a peak of 80.7% in 1978, federal data shows.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data show Arkansas tended to rank 48th or 49th in the U.S. in this period, resulting in the following relationship.
#48 Arkansas
#49 West Virginia
#50 Mississippi
Fast forward to the first quarter of the 21st century. Arkansas per capita disposable income increased to a broader range between 77.1% (2000) and 83.8% (2024) of the U.S., with a peak of 85.2% in 2021, federal data show.
Arkansas has not ranked 48th or 49th since 2009, reaching peak ranks of 41st in the U.S. in 2012 and 2014. In the last decade (2015-2024), Arkansas ranked 44th in five years (2), resulting in a new relationship among states.
#44 Arkansas
#45 Idaho
#46 Kentucky
#47 New Mexico
#48 Alabama
#49 West Virginia
#50 Mississippi
Improvement is also visible in federal per capita personal income data. (3)
In the last quarter of the 20th century, Arkansas per capita income was stuck in a narrow range between 75.4% (1975) and 76.4% (1999) of the U.S. average, with a peak of 78.8% in 1995, federal data shows.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data also show Arkansas tended to rank 48th or 49th in the U.S. in this period.
In the first quarter of the 21st century. Arkansas per capita income increased to a broader range between 74.4% (2000) and 80.8% (2024) of the U.S., with a peak of 82.6% in 2014, federal data show. (4)
Arkansas has not ranked 48th or 49th since 2009, reaching a peak rank of 42nd in the U.S. in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
In the last decade (2015-2024), Arkansas ranked either 44th or 45th each year. In 2024, Arkansas topped New Mexico, Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi, records show.
–Greg Kaza
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (www.bea.gov)
(1) Per capita disposable personal income is total disposable personal income divided by total midyear population.“SAINC51: State annual disposable personal income summary: disposable personal income, population, and per capita disposable personal income.”
(2) Arkansas ranked 44th in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022; 43rd in 2015; 45th in 2019, 2023, and 2024; and 46th in 2020.
(3) Per capita personal income is total personal income divided by total midyear population. “SAINC1 State annual personal income summary: personal income, population, per capita personal income.”
(4) The all-time peak in per capita income occurred in 2014. The all-time trough occurred in 1930, the Great Depression’s first full year when it was 36.1% of the U.S.
