21. West Virginia
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):9.7%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $38,079 (9th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.5% (15th highest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): -2.8% (6th lowest)

Personal income in West Virginia increased 9.7% from 2008 through 2014, the 21st-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, West Virginia’s expanding energy sector partly explains the increase. Energy extraction accounted for 17.2% of the state’s GDP in 2013, the fourth largest proportion nationwide, and up 4.2 percentage points from 2008. The increase was the second largest in the country.

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22. Georgia
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):9.6%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $39,126 (12th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 7.2% (6th highest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): -2.5% (8th lowest)

From 2008 through 2014, personal income in Georgia grew 9.6%, versus the 8.9% personal income growth across the country over that period. While income grew faster than in most states, Georgia’s personal income per capita of $39,126 in 2014 was still lower than the national average. And the state’s poverty rate of 19% was one of the highest nationwide.

23. Hawaii
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):9.5%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $36,447 (3rd lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.4% (10th lowest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): 4.5% (5th highest)

While the nation’s working age population shrank slightly from 2008 through 2013, Hawaii’s population aged 25-54 grew nearly 6% over that period, the second-largest such growth rate in the country. The influx accompanied a similarly above-average personal income growth in the state. The state had a median household income of $68,020 in 2013, higher than all but three other states. However, personal income per capita, at $36,447 in 2014, was among the lowest in the nation.

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24. Rhode Island
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):9.4%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $45,557 (13th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 7.7% (3rd highest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): -3.0% (5th lowest)

Rhode Island residents had relatively high incomes in 2008, and personal income in the state grew 9.4% over the next five years — faster than the national income growth of 8.9%. Rhode Island’s per capita personal income of $45,557 in 2014 was well above the national figure. The state’s 2014 unemployment rate of 7.7%, however, did not improve meaningfully over that period, and remained among the highest in the country.

25. Kentucky
> Personal income growth (2008-2014):9.4%
> Per capita personal income 2014: $39,040 (11th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.5% (15th highest)
> Pct. Change in labor force (2008-2014): -1.3% (12th lowest)

Personal income in Kentucky increased 9.4% from 2008 through 2014. By contrast, income grew 8.9% nationwide over that period. The state’s personal income remains very low. Per capita personal income in 2014 was $39,126, compared to national per capita personal income of $42,412. This figure was the 12th lowest in the country.