Source: Atlantic Cities blog.
The single-most important indicator of economic prosperity, most economist agree, is productivity — economic output (GDP) per capita. Although productivity doesn’t rise in lockstep with income, the two are inter-related. You can’t have high average incomes in a low-productivity metropolitan region. Therefore, it is interesting to peruse the map above, published on the Atlantic Cities blog, showing (in deep blue) where the high-productivity regions in the United States are.
Average productivity across all metro regions in 2012, blogs urban geographer Richard Florida, stood at $36,154. It was highest in Midland, Texas ($100,178) and San Jose ($90,528) and lowest in Arizona and Florida retirement communities and along Texas’ Mexican border. High productivity is strongly correlated with the energy-producing economy and the high-tech economy.
Florida, best known for his book, “The Rise of the Creative Class,” also finds a strong correlation of productivity with the creative class, though not any more so than with the high-tech economy. Productivity is correlated as well with the size and density of metro economies — bigger and denser are associated with higher productivity.
Virginia close-up of national map. Go ahead — you figure out which MSA is which, if you can.
Among MSAs, the Washington region ranked 7th in productivity, with output per capita of $66,433. No other Virginia region cracked the Top 20, which Florida published, although, based on his map, the Richmond region made it into the top 20% — and Charlottesville, too, if I’m not mistaken. If my reading of his map is right, Hampton Roads, Harrisonburg and Roanoke made it into the second quintile. The others didn’t fare so well.
(I wish Florida would provide links to data for all MSAs, but he doesn’t.)
— JAB
