Total personal income data and per capita personal income data are made available first on the Internet—and then as hard copy—on a regular basis. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U. S. Department of Commerce produces the personal income estimates. Their Internet Web address is
http://www.bea.gov/. Personal income data are prepared for the nation, the states, counties and metropolitan areas. The state estimates are often aggregated into eight BEA regions:
Personal income is defined as the income received by all individuals in the economy from all sources. It includes six major components: 1) wage and salary disbursements, 2) other labor income such as employer contributions to private pension and welfare funds, 3) proprietors’ income, 4) personal dividends, interest, and rent, 5) transfer payments, and 6) personal contributions for social
security insurance.
Per capita personal income is measured as the personal income of the residents of a given area divided by the resident population of the area. In computing per capita personal income for the counties, BEA used the Census Bureau’s annual county population estimates as of July 1.
Personal income data have a wide variety of users in both the private and public sectors. The estimates provide a framework for the analysis of each local area’s economy and serve as an important factor in decision making. Personal income is used in econometric models developed for various planning purposes. The data also are used to project tax revenues and future needs for public utilities and services. Businesses use personal income data to evaluate markets and to determine areas for location, expansion and the contraction of operations.
Annual estimates of state personal income are available sometime after the close of each reference year. Preliminary estimates are made available first, followed by revised estimates a few months later. Preliminary estimates are based in part on the Current Employment Statistics establishment survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The revised estimates are based on more complete data and are therefore more accurate and reliable. Quarterly estimates of state personal income are available sometime after the close of each reference quarter. Annual personal income data for counties and metropolitan statistical areas generally become available several months after the release of state personal income data.
BEA uses information collected by others to prepare its estimates of state and local area personal income. Generally, two kinds of information are used to measure the income of persons
— information generated at the point of disbursement of the income and information obtained from the recipient of the income. The first kind, referred to as administrative record data, is a by-product of the administration of various federal and state government programs; the second kind is survey and census data. The
CEW tabulations compiled quarterly by Iowa Workforce Development account for approximately 95 percent of the wage and salary disbursement estimate.
