Many San Diegans might have more money than they had at this time last year.

The real per capita personal income of people in the San Diego metropolitan area increased 5.7 percent from 2017 to 2018, said data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. That was higher than the nationwide increase of 4.7 percent.

San Diego metro area was up from the 3.2 percent gain the previous year, and ranked 51st out of 384 metro areas throughout the United States.

Real personal income is a catch-all way of looking at how much money Americans earn in a year. The number includes wages, interest, dividends from stocks and government benefits. The per capita part of the equation takes personal income divided by the population.

San Diego’s place among other metros showed higher income than many parts of the nation, but was more in the middle compared to the rest of the state. Residents in San Jose metro (including Silicon Valley) saw per capita income rise at a faster rate, 7.6 percent, than San Diego. Also, San Francisco saw a 7.3 percent gain and Santa Cruz rose 6.9 percent.

However, the 5.7 percent income rise in San Diego metro outpaced Los Angeles (5.4 percent) and the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area (4.3 percent).

The fastest place in the nation for income growth was Midland, Texas, at 11.1 percent and the least was El Centro at 1.2 percent.

The per capita personal income earned by a San Diegan in 2018 was $61,386, up from $58,097 in 2017 and $56,322 in 2016. Personal incomes in San Diego have seen a steady climb since the 1970s, but last saw a dip from 2008 ($45,131) to 2009 ($43,080) during the Great Recession.

Source: SDuniontribune by Phillip Molnar