Rome per capita income rising
The figures show a 3.1 percent growth from 2014 to 2015.
Did you get a nice raise in 2015? A new report from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that per capita income for the Rome metropolitan area increased by a little more than a thousand dollars, some 3.1 percent, to $35,054 in 2015. Specifically, that was an increase of $1,064 from 2014.
Per capita income — or average income — measures the average income earned per person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the area’s total income by its total population. Obviously though, the entire population a county is not included in the workforce. Most youth under the age of 16, for example, don’t contribute to the wage total.
Rome City Manager Sammy Rich said he was encouraged by the 3.1 percent growth figure. “It’s definitely a positive sign and reflective of some of the trends we’re seeing in our local economy,” Rich said.
The 3.1 percent growth ranked Rome 12th out of 14 metropolitan statistical areas in Georgia, ahead of only Dalton and Athens, in percentage of growth. Hinesville led the way with a 5.6 percent increase. Athens was last at 2.6 percent.
In actual dollars, Atlanta led the way with a per capita income figure of $45,092 for 2015 while Hinesville was last at $31,064. Rome’s $35,054 ranked ninth among the 14 metro areas in terms of actual income. Rich said he had never really tracked where Rome ranked among the state’s metro areas and did not have a basis for comment on the ranking. Sammy Rich, Rome city manager
Residents of Dalton and Whitfield County made an average of $31,539 in 2015, while Rome’s neighbors to the west in Gadsden made $34,086. Residents of Gainesville made $36,597 while folks in Athens made $34,596
The report also shows that the cost-of living in Rome is almost 20 percent less than the national average based on a calculation called Regional Price Parities.
The RPPs are calculated using price quotes for a wide array of items from the Consumer Price Index, which are aggregated into broader expenditure categories such as food, transportation or education. Data on rents are obtained separately from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.