A drop in farm incomes from late 2014 to early 2015 dragged down Iowans’ per capita personal income growth in recent U.S. Commerce Department news, but the quarterly report doesn’t accurately reflect the state’s generally stronger-than-average growth since 2000, says Iowa State University economist Peter Orazem.

“We’ve actually been climbing relative to the U.S., but you can’t maintain that forever. We had a 10-year period where we were doing well, and now the rest of the U.S. is catching up to us,” he said.

Iowa’s per capita personal income grew, on average, faster than the rest of the country, said Orazem, noting that its gross state product also has grown faster than the national average.

Where is Iowa’s richest city?
How do Iowa’s metropolitan areas fare when comparing the personal income of their residents? A federal Bureau of Economic Analysis report compares the personal income of residents, per capita, in 2013 and their ranking in a list of 381 metropolitan statistical areas across the nation. Residents of the Omaha-Council Bluffs area nudged out Greater Des Moines residents in 2013 by just over $100 a year, on average.

Metropolitan area | Per capita personal income (2013) | National ranking (based on 2003 stats)
Omaha-Council Bluffs | $47,736 | 35
Des Moines-West Des Moines | $47,612 | 37
Iowa City | $45,673 | 104
Cedar Rapids | $45,159 | 108
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | $44,420 | 130
Sioux City | $43,465 | 195
Waterloo-Cedar Falls | $41,769 | 199
Ames | $41,349 | 166
Dubuque | $41,229 | 193

$45,115 
Iowa per capita personal income 2014

$46,129 
U.S. per capita personal income 2014

3.4% 
Iowa compound annual growth in per capita personal income, 2004-2014

3.0% 
U.S. compound annual growth in per capita personal income, 2004-2014

Growth of real gross state product for Iowa

Industry | Annual growth 2000-2014 | Growth 2013-2014

All industry total | 2.1% | 0.4%
Private industries | 2.3% | 0.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting | 9.0% | -13.1%
Mining | -1.7% | 6.8%
Utilities | -0.8% | 2.4%
Construction | 0.4% | 6.2%
Manufacturing | 1.7% | -0.1%
Durable goods manufacturing | 3.1% | 0.8%
Nondurable goods manufacturing | 0.3% | -1.2%
Wholesale trade | 2.4% | 0.4%
Retail trade | 1.1% | 1.8%
Transportation and warehousing | 1.6% | 1.5%
Information | 3.5% | -0.5%
Finance and insurance | 2.9% | 2.1%
Real estate and rental and leasing | 3.4% | 2.0%
Professional and business services | 4.2% | 6.1%
Professional, scientific, and technical services | 2.9% | 4.3%
Management of companies and enterprises | 11.9% | 18.5%
Administrative and waste management services | 4.1% | 2.3%
Educational services | 0.9% | -1.7%
Health care and social assistance | 1.8% | 2.6%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 0.1% | 4.2%
Accommodation and food services | 0.6% | -0.3%
Other services, except government | -1.2% | 1.5%
Government | 0.6% | 0.6%