By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One summarized the premise of this series: an examination of key stats from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) comparing Montgomery County to its largest neighbors. Part Two looked at population. Part Three looked at gross domestic product (GDP). Now let’s look at per capita GDP, which is economic output per person.
The chart below shows real per capita GDP growth (adjusted for inflation) for the large jurisdictions in the region in the most recent year measured.
MoCo’s real per capita GDP grew by close to the region average and surpassed six of ten competitors in 2022. This was one of the county’s better economic performances.
Now let’s look at the five-year change.
During this period, the county’s real per capita GDP was stagnant. This is similar to the county’s performance in GDP overall.
This chart shows the ten-year change.
Once again, MoCo was one of the region’s worst performers. Its real per capita GDP grew at about half the region average over the last decade.
MoCo has the reputation of a wealthy county with a large economy. But let’s remember: we compete in a region of heavyweights, and they are all trying to improve. The chart below shows MoCo’s per capita GDP as a percentage of the region’s. That statistic has had some ups and downs, but it improved more often than not through 2017. Since then, it has been falling.
For much of the last decade, MoCo’s economic output per person has been nearly stagnant while the vast majority of our neighbors have done better. This not only limits economic opportunities for our residents – it also places a ceiling on our county budget growth.
Next: we will look at personal income.
Categorized in:EconomyMontgomery Perspective Archive
Tagged in:Adam Pagnucco, Economy 2024 Series