Per Capita Income (PCI) is one of the most widely used indicators for gauging the economic performance and changing fortunes of local economies. It is used as a yardstick to assess the economic well being of a region's residents and the quality of consumer markets. It serves as a barometer for calibrating the economic performance of a region over time and to judge differences in relative economic prosperity between regions. Shifting trends in local per capita income growth have important social and political ramifications and significant implications in formulating local economic development strategies and initiatives.

Personal income is measured as a flow throughout the year, while the measurement of population is at one point in mid-year. Therefore, per capita income is distorted if a significant change in population occurs during the year.

For smaller counties in particular, per capita income in any given year may be exceptionally high or low for the short run because of unusual local conditions, such as a bumper crop, a catastrophe, or a major construction project as the building of a dam or nuclear power plant.

Farm incomes are notorious for being especially volatile year-to-year, owing to changing weather, commodity market conditions, and alterations in government programs. Therefore, the per capita income of farm-dependent counties may exhibit sharp fluctuations over time.

The presence of large institutional populations--such as residents attending a local college or the residents of a local prison or state mental institution--can significantly lower the per capita income estimates of an area. Such results may not reflect the relative economic well being of the non-institutional population and may mislead if care is not given to their interpretation.

Figure 1 depicts Harris County's annual per capita personal income over 1970-2021 in current and constant (2012) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Harris County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Harris County's per capita personal income increased 1,549.01%, from $3,432 in 1970 to $56,595 in 2021. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 198.22%, from $16,413 in 1970 to $48,948 in 2021.

Figure 2 tracks Harris County's and Georgia's annual real per capita personal income for the period 1969-2021 to illustrate real per capita personal income patterns over time. During this 53-year period, Harris County's real per capita personal income rose from $15,667 in 1969 to $48,948 in 2021, for a net gain of $33,282, or 212.43%. In comparison, Georgia's real per capita personal income increased from $16,478 in 1969 to $48,249 in 2021, for a net advance of $31,771, or 192.81%.

Figure 3 shows Harris County's real per capita personal income growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Georgia, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real per capita personal income in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the real per capita personal incomes in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real per capita personal income growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.

Harris County's overall real per capita personal income growth was 212.43% over 1969-2021 outpaced Georgia's increase of 192.81%, and topped the United States' increase of 181.94%.

Figure 4 displays the trends for per capita personal income relative to the national average by tracing Harris County and Georgia per capita personal income as a percent of the national average over 1969-2021.

In 1969, Harris County's per capita personal income amounted to 79.62% of the national average; in 2021, it approximated 88.23%. Similarly, in 1969, Georgia's per capita personal income totaled 83.74% of the national average; in 2021, it consisted of 86.97%.

Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Harris County's real per capita personal income growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2021. The average annual percent change for the entire 52-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.

On average, Harris County's real per capita personal income grew at an annual rate of 2.25% over 1970-2021. The county recorded its highest growth in 1984 (8.40%) and posted its lowest growth in 2001 (-4.58%). In 2021, Harris County's real per capita personal income grew by 2.86%

Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again depicts the annual percent change in Harris County's real per capita personal income since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2021.

During the 1970s, Harris County's annual real per capita personal income growth rate averaged 2.27%. It averaged 3.14% during the 1980s, 3.93% during the 1990s, -0.07% during the 2000s, 1.83% throughout the 2010s, 3.04% thus far this decade (2020-2021).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Harris County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Georgia and the nation. As the chart reveals, Harris County's average annual real per capita personal income growth trailed Georgia's average throughout the 1970s (2.27% vs. 2.55%), outpaced Georgia's average in the 1980s (3.14% vs. 2.87%), exceeded Georgia's average in the 1990s (3.93% vs. 2.51%), trailed Georgia's average in the 2000s (-0.07% vs. 0.20%), fell below Georgia's average in the 2010s (1.83% vs. 2.07%), and amounted to less than Georgia's average over the 2 year period of the current decade, 2020-2021 (3.04% vs. 3.96%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real per capita personal income growth trends, Harris County trailed the nation in the 1970s (2.27% vs. 2.37%), led the nation over the 1980s (3.14% vs. 2.20%), recorded above the nation in the 1990s (3.93% vs. 2.04%), recorded underneath the nation in the 2000s (-0.07% vs. 1.08%), posted below the nation during the 2010s (1.83% vs. 2.04%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2021 (3.04% vs. 4.13%).