Why is this indicator important?
Income is the primary measure of economic success.  Higher incomes are positively correlated with higher education, higher wealth accumulation, and lower crime rates.  Higher-income areas typically have better access to good schools, better and more abundant civic and cultural amenities, and higher levels of community involvement. 

Additionally, sufficient income is necessary to fuel economic growth, both of the family and the community.  Excess disposable income can be utilized to invest in financial assets for future growth and to create family wealth, or to contribute to the good of the community through charitable contributions.  As such, high incomes tend to be somewhat self-perpetuating as investment income contributes a higher percentage of total income.

Disparities in income levels can be indicative of unequal access to quality education, cultural differences regarding wealth and financial success, or merely to different opportunities available within a region.  Persistent, excessive income disparities, however, can be a sign of potential societal unrest, as those on the bottom of the earnings ladder feel that they are unable to improve their state in life.   

How are we doing?
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Dallas area per capita income in 2004 was $35,502, slightly above the national average of $33,050 and the Texas average of $30,702.  Although Dallas ranks in the top 10% of metropolitan areas in the nation in per capita income, it is well below the per capita income of other large metropolitan areas such as New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.  

Within the eight counties included in Dallas Indicators, per capita income varies, with both Collin County ($42,077) and Dallas County ($38,606) exceeding the regional average, while the remaining counties lag behind the regional average.

• Rockwall County ($34,099) and Denton County ($32,980) are only slightly below the regional average.
• Ellis County ($26,967), Kaufman County ($25,563), Hunt County ($25,109), and Henderson County ($23,982) are significantly below the regional average.

Median household income for the Dallas PMSA was $49,292 in 2003, according to the 2004 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Results for the region are somewhat differently distributed for median household income than for per capita income.

• Collin County ($74,136), Rockwall County ($69,083), Denton County ($61,356), and Ellis County ($49,815) all exceed the regional average.
• Kaufman County ($46,085), Dallas County ($41,147), Hunt County ($37,289), and Henderson County ($32,431) all fall below the regional average in median household income.

Although average income, whether measured on a per capita or household basis, is a good measure of economic health, the distribution of income across various levels is also key to potential disparities within the community.

• While approximately 8.9% of households across the nation earn less than $10,000 per year, only 7.8% of households in the Dallas PMSA counties earn this level.  Of Dallas County households, 9.4% are in this bracket.
• At the high end of the income distribution, 2.7% of households nationwide earn $200,000 or more.  However, 3.8% of Dallas PMSA households and 3.4% of Dallas County households earn this level of annual income.