US Energy Production Pumping Income into Heartland

Tuesday, 27 November 2012 | by Pat's Picks

(Click on the map for a larger view.)

There’s a pretty fascinating map on the front page of USA Today this morning, showing how the middle of America has had big income gains in the past five years. Oil and gas production gets much of the credit for the boom, which is “driving up income so fast in a few hundred small towns and rural areas that it’s shifting prosperity to the nation’s heartland.” An example: the average income in Sully County, South Dakota ($116,067) now almost rivals the average income in Manhattan ($121,301).

SOURCE: USA Today