Last month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its preliminary report on state per capital personal income for 2009. Personal income is the income received by all persons from all sources, and is the most commonly used measure of state economic growth.

Not surprisingly, the report showed that 2009 was a rough year. Across the nation, state personal income declined by an average of 2.6 percent. As we discuss in the April edition of Numbers You Need, our monthly bulletin of key economic and budget data, in Oklahoma, per capital personal income (PCPI) fell by 1.9 percent, from $35,969 in 2008 to $35,268 in 2009. This drop ranked Oklahoma 22nd among the states in percent change from 2008 to 2009. West Virginia saw the strongest growth in 2009 and was one of only three states, along with Maine and Maryland, that registered positive growth. Wyoming saw the steepest decline, -5.9 percent, with Nevada, South Dakota, Idaho and Arizona rounding out the bottom five. Read the rest of this entry »