Our area is booming when it comes to employment growth.
Having companies like Wal-mart, Tyson and J.B. Hunt in your own backyard is a big reason for it. But if you think it's enough to compete with the rest of the country when it comes to income; think again.

The latest findings from a government study on income and poverty show people in Northwest Arkansas don't make as much money as you might think.

"Jobs are being created at all income levels and we have some very wealthy people who make Northwest Arkansas their home, but we have some people who are not as wealthy as well and that shows up in the data,” says Kathy Deck, Economist at the University of Arkansas.

According to the stats, the median household income in our area is $44,552 a year. That's over six thousand dollars more than the rest of the state, but six thousand dollars less than the rest of the country. Economist Kathy Deck says to get that number up more people need college degrees.

"In as much as our population becomes more educated, we have more folks with bachelor degrees, more folks with graduate degrees, then we're likely to see our income level increase at the same time,” explains Deck.

But college isn't for everyone, including the people that work on a University Campus.

"They're making minimum wage and they don't make enough money, said Cheryl Reed, a worker for Facilities Management at the U of A. “I don't know how they survive and I feel sorry for them."

When it comes to poverty rates our part of the state does better than the rest of Arkansas, but compared to the rest of the nation, Northwest Arkansas has a two percent higher poverty rate than everyone else.