Georgia Gaming Market Assessment - Pennsylvania Treasury

$54,000
$52,000
$50,000
$48,000
$46,000
$44,000
$42,000
$40,000
Recession
Real Median Household Income 1989-2009
(2009 Dollars)
$52,388
$50,343
Source: US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1967-2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplements
Resort destination markets such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City led the national trend of
declining gaming revenue while the Pennsylvania market felt less effect. This is due to the fact
that it is a relatively new market which draws more of its customers from local play. Based on
the latest available Census data (2009), Pennsylvania has fared slightly better than the nation in
terms of the recession’s impact on household income. In current dollars, Pennsylvania has
shown a slight decrease of 0.55%, compared to the national decline of 0.91%. In real dollars,
Pennsylvania has declined 3.86%, which is less than the national average of 4.21%.
Pennsylvania gaming markets coped better due in part to both the decreased household income
trend and the fact that the market was still ramping up. It is important to note that this market
may have performed stronger had it not been for the economic recession.
Median Household Income Trend
2009 2007 % change
Current Dollars (inflated)
US $49,777 $50,233 -0.91%
Pennsylvania $48,172 $48,437 -0.55%
Real Dollars (2009)
US $49,777 $51,965 -4.21%
Pennsylvania $48,172 $50,107 -3.86%
Source: US Census Bureau
$51,965
$49,777
Regional Income
Unfortunately, the full impact of the recession has not yet been processed into Nielsen Claritas
income data, which continues to show growth from 2007-2010. Therefore, the following income
data should be compared only to itself and not to income data from other sources such as the
The Innovation Group Project #054-11 August 2011 Page 7