WASHINGTON -- Americans who live in big cities got a bigger boost in their income from 1980 to 1981 than those who live in small towns or in the country, the Commerce Department says.
On a per capita basis, metropolitan residents had an average income of $11,188 -- well above the national average of $10,495 -- while people living in less populated areas averaged only $8,382.
The report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed non-farm earnings increased 9.7 percent in 1981 in metropolitan counties -- those included in the 305 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or SMSAs, where the nation's population is most heavily concentrated.
In non-metropolitan counties, non-farm earnings rose 9.2 percent from 1980 to 1981, meaning that in both areas, 'earnings increased faster than the 8.5 percent national increase in consumer prices,' the department said.
The report compared figures for counties located within SMSAs, regions used in many of the Census Bureau's studies, and 3,140 other counties.
Although the averages were positive, the bureau noted that non-farm earnings in the Great Lakes and Plains regions lagged behind prices. The best improvements came in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain states.
The report included figures on both nonfarm earnings and total per capita income, figures that do not match percisely. The per capita figures include farm income, but since farm earnings fluctuate widely from year to year, they are often excluded in indentifying trends, the bureau said.
All figures were in current dollars, with no adjustment for inflation. Tables delivered with the report showed:
-National per capita income rome from $9,483 in 1980 to $10,495 in 1981, an increase if 11.7 percent.
-In SMSA counties, 1981 average income was $11,188, 7 percent higher than the national average, and up 11.6 percent from the 1980 figure of $10,129.
-In non-metropolitan counties, the 1981 figure was 8,382, only 80 percent of the national average, but up 12.4 percent from the $7,516 estimated in 1980.
Among SMSAs, the five with the highest per capita income in 1981 were:
Midland, Texas, $16,467; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-Danbury, Conn., $15,697; Anchorage, Alaska, $15,563; Casper, Wyo., $14,979, and San Francisco-Oakland, Calif., $14,416;
A sampling the statistics showed these SMSAs within 1 percent of the national income average:
Austin, Texas; Bismark, N.D., Charleston, W.Va.; Dayton, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Lake Charles, La.; Racine, Wis.; Sioux Falls, S.D., and Topeka, Kan.
