TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Personal income growth in Kansas is below the national average largely because of troubles in agriculture.
Kansas Public Radio reports that the state’s personal income has grown by 1.6% since late 2007, when the Great Recession started. The national rate is 2.1%. All states have seen their economies grow since the Great Recession but Kansas had the eighth-worst personal income growth in the nation over the last year. Kansas farmers face an expanding drought and low commodity prices.
Agriculture makes up about 40% of the state’s economy and industries related to agriculture and food production are worth about $65 billion annually.
