List of U.S. cities by adjusted per capita personal income estimates the per capita personal income (PCPI) of residents of United States' Metropolitan statistical areas (MSA). A MSA is defined as a central city or cities and their surrounding area of influence. The PCPI is adjusted by differences in the cost of living, called "regional price parities" by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The effect of adjusting the per capita personal income by the cost of living is to narrow the difference in the standard of living between most high-income cities and most low-income cities.

The BEA defines regional price parities as an estimate of "the differences in price levels across states and metropolitan areas for a given year and are expressed as a percentage of the overall national price level." The BEA defines personal income as follows:

Personal income is the income received by, or on behalf of, all persons from all sources: from participation as laborers in production, from owning a home or business, from the ownership of financial assets, and from government and business in the form of transfers. It includes income from domestic sources as well as the rest of world. It does not include realized or unrealized capital gains or losses.

Personal income is estimated before the deduction of personal income taxes and other personal taxes and is reported in current dollars (no adjustment is made for price changes).

Per Capita Personal Income (PCPI) is a more inclusive estimate of the average standard of living of residents in the U.S. than measures of per capita income. PCPI "includes wages, benefits, proprietor income, dividends, interest, rent, and transfer payments" such as Social Security, veteran's benefits, farm subsidies, welfare, and food stamps.

The difference in estimates of per capita income and per capita personal income is large. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau calculated a per capita income of the United States as 34,103 dollars. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis calculated the PCPI as 56,490 dollars.

A more valid accounting of the differences in the standard of living of residents in different citizens requires recognition that prices vary from state to state and city to city. In general, a dollar has more purchasing power in the poorer cities than it does in the richer cities. The difference in housing costs from city to city is especially important. The Bureau of Economic Analysis has calculated that the regional price parity in 2019 of the 50 largest MSAs ranges from 88.3 in Birmingham, Alabama (which has the lowest cost of living of the 50 most populous MSAs) to 126.7 in San Jose, California (the highest cost of living of the 50 most populous MSAs). An income of $0.88 in Birmingham equals an income of $1.27 in San Jose with the U.S as a whole having an average PCPI of $1.00. To put it another way, the purchasing power of a dollar compared to the U.S. average is $1.13 in Birmingham and $0.79 in San Jose. The net impact of accounting for differences in the purchasing power of a dollar in different MSAs is to narrow the gap in the standard of living between rich and poor cities.

The statistical analysis is complicated by the various definitions of what constitutes a "city." There are three commonly used definitions: the population within the legal limits of an incorporated city; an MSA which includes not only the population within the legal boundaries of a city but also the population of the jurisdictions in its suburbs and in the surrounding counties which are influenced by the central city; a Combined Statistical Area which combines the population of two or more MSAs.

The population and per capita personal income estimates of metropolitan statistical areas are used in the following table.

Standard Metropolitan statistical areas by PCPI, adjusted by regional price parity 50 largest metropolitan areas Per Capita Personal Income (PCPI) (2019) Rank in PCPI before adjustment Purchasing power of $1.00 (2019) PCPI after adjustments for purchasing power of dollar Rank in PCPI after adjustment 1. New York City-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA $79,844 4 $0.80 $63,875 7 2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA $66,684 8 $0.84 $56,015 34 3. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA $63,500 14 $0.97 $61,595 18 4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA $58,725 22 $0.99 $58,138 27 5. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA $58,890 20 $0.98 $57,712 28 6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA $74,385 6 $0.85 $63,227 9 7. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA $60,966 16 $0.90 $54,869 39 8. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA $66,596 9 $0.95 $63,226 10 9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA MSA $54,557 32 $1.02 $55,648 36 10. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA $48,065 47 $1.01 $48,546 48 11. Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA $81,498 3 $0.87 $70,903 3 12. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA MSA $104,291 2 $0.74 $77,175 2 13. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA $42,242 50 $0.93 $39,285 50 14. Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI MSA $54,172 35 $1.04 $56,339 32 15. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA $78,073 5 $0.87 $67,924 4 16. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA $64,225 11 $0.97 $62,298 13 17. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA $63,726 13 $0.85 $54,167 41 18. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA $48, 908 43 $1.01 $49,397 47 19 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA $67,236 7 $0.96 $64,547 5 20. St. Louis, MO-IL MSA $56,293 27 $1.11 $63,185 11 21. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA $63,988 12 $0.95 $60,789 21 22. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA $53,916 43 $1.06 $57,151 30 23. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA $45,156 49 $1.01 $45,608 49 24. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA $48,694 46 $1.07 $52,106 45 25. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA $59,921 19 $0.95 $56,925 31 26. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA MSA $58,843 21 $0.95 $55,901 35 27. Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV CSA $60,227 18 $1.01 $60,829 20 28. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA $48,806 45 $1.03 $50,270 46 29. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX MSA $61,977 15 $1.01 $62,597 12 30. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN MSA $56,033 29 $1.10 $61,636 16 31. Kansas City, MO-KS MSA $55,009 31 $1.08 $59,406 24 32. Columbus, OH MSA $52,477 40 $1.09 $57,200 29 33. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN MSA $56,360 26 $1.10 $61,966 15 34. Cleveland-Elyria, OH MSA $55,451 30 $1.11 $61, 551 17 35. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA $114,080 1 $0.79 $90,123 1 36. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN MSA $60,680 17 $1.06 $64,321 6 37. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA $52,011 37 $1.04 $54,091 42 38. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA $56,138 28 $1.00 $56,138 33 39. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA $58,457 24 $1.06 $62,060 14 40. Jacksonville, FL MSA $51,421 36 $1.05 $53,992 43 41. Oklahoma City, OK MSA $48,860 44 $1.11 $54,235 40 42. Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA $57,851 25 $1.04 $60,165 23 43. Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA $47,985 48 $1.12 $53,743 44 44. Richmond, VA MSA $58,628 23 $1.04 $60,973 19 45. New Orleans-Metairie, LA MSA $54,463 33 $1.07 $58,275 26 46. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN MSA $52,134 38 $1.12 $58,390 25 47. Salt Lake City, UT MSA $54,450 34 $1.01 $54,995 38 48. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT MSA $65,152 10 $0.98 $63,849 8 49. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY MSA $52,331 39 $1.06 $55,471 37 50. Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA $53,374 41 $1.13 $60,313 22 United States $56,490 $1.00 $56,490

References