Arkansas personal income growth for the second quarter came in at a 0.9% annual rate, compared to 5.5% for the U.S. Arkansas had the slowest income growth of all 50 states. The second quarter growth rate is in sharp contrast to the (revised) first quarter growth rate of 9.2%.
The slowdown in growth was predictably associated with the volatile Farm Proprietor’s income component. Total Proprietors’ income declined at a 45% annualized rate, shaving 4.1 percentage points off of total income growth. In other words, total personal income would have increased at a rate of 5.0% if proprietors’ income had shown zero growth. Other components of personal income, including Wages & Salaries; Dividends, Interest & Rent; and Transfer Receipts showed growth rates higher than the U.S. total.
While proprietors’ income had been boosted in recent quarters by a recovery in farm incomes, the farm component once again suppressed growth in the second quarter.
Total personal income growth in Arkansas had been outpacing the nation as Farm Proprietors’ income was boosting growth through 2005. From 2024:Q1 through 2025:Q1, Arkansas personal income expanded by 6.7% while U.S. personal income grew by 5.1%. The reversal in relative growth rates in the first quarter narrowed the longer-term growth gap that had been opening up. Nevertheless, Arkansas remains above the national average when it comes to cumulative growth since the first quarter of 2020
Annual Data Revisions
Annual revisions to personal income series overall had a relatively small impact on total income reported for 2025. The path of income was revised downward for 2022 and 2023, but somewhat higher estimates of growth during 2024 brought the revised growth path more closely in line with the previously published level. As of 2025:Q1, the revised estimate of total personal income was only 0.5% lower than the level that was initially reported. The Wage & Salary component was revised downward by only 0.1%.
Some components of personal income were revised more substantially. As of 2025:Q1, Proprietors’ Income was revised upward by 25%; Dividends, Interest, and Rent was revised down by 9.3%.
