Personal incomes was mixed across the states in 2021:Q3, reflecting the complex factors at work: the drain from the continuing pullback of federal benefits vs. ongoing marked growth in net earnings in many states (employee compensation plus proprietors’ income). Kentucky saw the highest rate of growth (6.7 percent); North Dakota the lowest (-4.3). Net earnings fell in both North and South Dakota, as well as New Hampshire (which had the second largest decline in overall personal income) while 16 states, led by Hawaii and Texas, saw a double-digit rate of growth. On the transfer payment side, both Kentucky and Louisiana actually had increases, while the vast majority of other states saw double-digit rates of decline (with a dozen experiencing drops of more than 20 percent, at an annual rate).

Farm net earnings fell in the third quarter, accounting for the weakness in the net earnings component of income in many Plains states and, especially, in the Dakotas (the drop in net earnings in New Hampshire was attributable to an outside decline in the Management of Companies and Enterprises in that state). Unsurprisingly, gains in Accommodation and Food Services were important contributors to growth in Hawaii and Nevada.