COLORADO INCOMES RISE BUT START TO LOOK MORE AVERAGE

Colorado’s economy, long a leader coming out of the 2009 recession, is starting to drop toward the middle of the pack, according to an update Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal incomes in Colorado rose from $277.7 billion in 2015 to $288.4 billion in 2016, a 3.9 percent increase, ahead of the 3.6 percent gain measured nationally last year. But the gain was off from the 5.1 percent pace initially reported in 2015. Colorado, which ranked 7th for personal income gains that year, dropped to 15th last year.

Per capita personal income in Colorado last year was $52,059, which ranked 15th among states, down from 14th last year.

Personal income consists mostly of earnings from employment, but also includes dividends and interest; rents and royalties; government payments, such as Social Security; and sole proprietor incomes. Many farmers are in that last category, and they have been under severe pressure the past two years.

Depressed commodity prices explain some of the drag on Colorado’s performance.