How Mississippi is Catching Up — and Puerto Rico Is Not

Incomes in Puerto Rico have historically lagged behind those in the states, but the difference is steadily increasing. Puerto Rico’s per capita income – as shown in the graph below – has grown since 1970, but it hasn’t kept up with the states.

Most of the numbers in the chart above are from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Puerto Rico’s data was not included in that report, and has been collected from various U.S. Census reports. Different sources give significantly different numbers for all these locations, but the pattern is clear.

Puerto Rico’s per capita income is consistently lower than those of the states where many Puerto Ricans now live. It’s also behind the U.S. generally.

Even Mississippi, the poorest state in the Union, is noticeably ahead of Puerto Rico when it comes to household income.

Mississippi is heading up

In 1970, only 20% of adults in Mississippi had a college degree, agriculture was the main source of jobs, and about half the children of Mississippi lived in poverty — about the same as in Puerto Rico.

Today, roughly 18% of the people of Mississippi live in poverty, compared with 11% nationally. While this is not a statistic to celebrate, it does show a real improvement over the situation in the 1970s. Puerto Rico continues to have about a 43% poverty rate.

Puerto Rico and Mississippi share historic similarities. Both have been affected by hurricanes and war — Mississippi was the 5th most prosperous state before the Civil War. They were both are founded on an agricultural economy and have large minority populations. Today, they both face educational challenges. Puerto Rico, like Mississippi, tends to lose its college graduates to states (in Mississippi’s case, other states) on the mainland.

Mississippi continues to face challenges, but the state has made strides over the past four decades and Mississippi is catching up. Mississippi’s family income level has increased by 20% since 1970 — a similar number to New York’s and better than Florida’s

Puerto Rico is just beginning to recover

Puerto Rico’s household income has increased by about 50% since 1970, but this apparent progress reflects the very small number the Island started with. Mississippi’s median income increased by $31,432 — more than Puerto Rico’s current total. While the economy of Puerto Rico is showing some signs of recovery since the economic devastation of Hurricane Maria and the pandemic, poverty and food insecurity continue to haunt the Island. Nonetheless, recent data shows that tourism is on the rise and the current territorial government is emphasizing manufacturing. Could there also be better days ahead for Puerto Rico?

As a state, yes. Every territory which has become a state has seen increased prosperity. Mississippi, as a state, has continued to see improvements over the past half century. Puerto Rico, as a territory, faces impediments that states simply don’t have.  Unequal treatment appears to lead to unequal outcomes.