1. North Dakota
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):35.1%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $55,966 (the highest)
> Unemployment rate: 2.8% (the lowest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): 12.2% (2nd highest)

Personal income in North Dakota increased 35.1% from 2008 through 2014, the fastest growth rate in the country. By contrast, income grew 8.9% nationwide over that period. As in most states where personal income is growing fast, North Dakota’s rapidly expanding energy sector largely explains the increase. Energy extraction accounted for 21.3% of the state’s GDP in 2013, up 9 percentage points from 2008. The increase was the largest in the country. Employment in the sector increased a remarkable 173.2%, the largest percent increase in the nation.

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2. Texas
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):17.7%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $43,340 (25th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.1% (16th lowest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): 12.4% (the highest)

Income increased 8.9% nationwide between 2008 and 2014. In Texas, meanwhile, personal income grew at nearly double that rate, at 17.7%. This was the second-fastest growth rate nationwide. As was the case with many states with high personal income growth, the state’s energy sector was a major factor in the increase. Energy extraction accounted for 11.7% of the state’s GDP in 2013, up 2.5 percentage points from 2008. The increase was the fourth largest in the country. The energy sector also added 54,087 jobs over that period, by far the largest raw increase nationwide.

3. Alaska
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):14.6%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $45,477 (14th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.8% (10th highest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): 3.1% (12th highest)

Personal income in Alaska increased 14.6% from 2008 through 2014, the third-fastest growth rate in the country. By contrast, income grew 8.9% nationwide over that period. Alaska’s rapidly expanding energy sector largely explains the increase. Energy extraction accounted for more than one-quarter of the state’s GDP in 2013, up 0.8 percentage points from 2008. Since 1982, every Alaskan has received an annual dividend from the state’s permanent fund made possible by Alaska’s historically profitable oil operations.

4. Montana
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):13.5%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $39,682 (17th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.7% (13th lowest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): 1.4% (22nd highest)

Personal income in Montana increased 13.5% from 2008 through 2014, the fourth-fastest growth rate in the country. By contrast, income grew 8.9% nationwide over that period. As in most states where personal income is growing fast, Montana’s healthy energy sector largely explains the increase. Energy extraction accounted for 9.9% of the state’s GDP in 2013, up 1.5 percentage points from 2008. The increase was the eighth largest in the country.

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5. Arkansas
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):12.9%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $39,677 (16th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.1% (23rd highest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): -5.4% (the lowest)

Nationally, income grew 8.9% over the five years ending in 2013. In Arkansas, Personal income soared by nearly 13% over that same period, fifth-fastest in the country. As in most states where personal income is growing fast, Arkansas’s natural resources and mining sector partly explains the increase. Energy extraction accounted for 5.2% of the state’s GDP in 2013, up 1 percentage point from 2008. The increase was the 16th largest in the country. While incomes are growing in the state, nearly one in five residents lived in poverty in 2013, the fourth highest poverty rate nationwide.