Delayed by a month due to the federal government shutdown, state-level data are now available for Personal Income for the third quarter of 2025. Total Personal Income increased at an annual rate of 3.1%, slightly lower than the 3.3% U.S. average. Year-over-year growth rates were 4.9% for Arkansas and 4.7% for the U.S.
A breakdown of the components of income growth shows solid growth in Wages & Salaries and Transfer Receipts, accompanied by a sharp offsetting drop in Proprietors’ Income, which resulted in lowering total income growth by 0.8%.
As has frequently been the case in recent quarters, the drop in Proprietors’ Income was mostly in the Farm Component. Nonfarm Proprietors’ Income increased at a modest rate of 0.6%, while Farm Proprietors’ Income declined at a 38.1% rate.
To some extent, the recent swings in Farm Income have obscured the general underlying trends. As illustrated with four-quarter growth rates, Arkansas Personal Income growth has swung below and above the U.S. growth rate over the past two years, but after removing the Nonfarm Proprietors’ income component, income growth has been relatively steady at between 5% and 5-1/2%. In 2025:Q3, this adjusted Nonfarm Income measure increased by 5.1%.
