Connecticut's commuter corridor running from Greenwich to Bridgeport held on to its perch as the second most affluent in the United States last year, but the region stretching from Hartford to Middletown saw one the slowest growth rates in the nation for personal income.

For 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis calculated a 7.3 percent increase in per-capita income in metropolitan areas of the United States, according to BEA estimates released Wednesday. The BEA study includes both employer-based pay as well as income from investments like stocks and real estate, both skyrocketing in value last year before flattening in 2022.

Despite Connecticut's concentrations of wealthy earners statewide, only the New Haven-Milford region topped the U.S. average — and only barely with a 7.5 percent bump in per-capita income to a little over $64,600 in annual income.

The Hartford and New London regions ranked near the bottom of the U.S. for per-capita income growth, at 4.4 percent and 4.3 percent respectively. Among nearly 40 metropolitan areas in the Northeast, the only locale to see slower growth was Burlington, Vt.

– The Norwalk Hour