Per Capita Income

Per Capita Income in California

California

Per capita income is the total income of a group divided by the total population of the group. This measure is often used to indicate the relative wealth of a state or nation. Higher per capita income indicates that, on average, individuals in that group are earning more money each year. Individuals with low household incomes tend to have a higher prevalence of disease and lower life expectancy than people in higher-income households. There is an increase in stress associated with being on the lower end of the income spectrum, which is in turn associated with unhealthy behaviors and outcomes. Individuals with a higher burden of stress in adulthood tend to have higher body mass indexes, higher smoking rates, higher alcohol consumption and lower physical activity after adjusting for age.

White Americans have the highest per capita income in the United States, nearly twice the per capita incomes of the Black and Hispanic populations. 

Per capita income is often a reflection of populations with higher household incomes. Populations with higher household incomes include:

• Asian households, followed by non-Hispanic white households, compared with Hispanic and Black households.
• Those living inside Metropolitan Statistical Areas (i.e., in and near cities) compared with those living outside Metropolitan Statistical Areas (i.e., rural areas). 
• Those living in the Northeast and West regions of the country compared with those living in the Midwest and South. 
• Male workers compared with female workers.

Reducing the unemployment rate and increasing wages for workers are strategies that may increase median household income. Creating awareness for government support initiatives such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can help those with lower incomes access healthy food and save money.

Healthy People 2030 tracks different economic stability measures but has not set targets for per capita or median household income.

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Mishel, Lawrence, and Ross Eisenbrey. “How to Raise Wages: Policies That Work and Policies That Don’t.” Briefing Paper #391. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute, March 19, 2015. https://www.epi.org/publication/how-to-raise-wages-policies-that-work-and-policies-that-dont/.

Shrider, Emily A., Melissa Kollar, Frances Chen, and Jessica Semega. “Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020.” Current Population Reports P60-273. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, September 2021. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.pdf.

Umberson, Debra, Hui Liu, and Corinne Reczek. “Stress and Health Behaviour over the Life Course.” Stress Processes Across the Life Course 13 (January 1, 2008): 19–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-2608(08)00002-6.

Woolf, Steven H., Laudan Aron, Lisa Dubay, Sarah M. Simon, Emily Zimmerman, and Kim X. Luk. “How Are Income and Wealth Linked to Health and Longevity?” Center on Society and Health: Urban Institute, April 2015. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/49116/2000178-How-are-Income-and-Wealth-Linked-to-Health-and-Longevity.pdf.