Personal income in the Boise area reached $21.5 billion last year, its highest level since 2008, new federal data show.

Personal income in the five-county area comprising Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gem and Owyhee counties was up 4.6 percent from 2010, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal income includes wages, profits, investments and government payments such as Social Security and unemployment.

Nationally, metropolitan personal income hit $11.2 trillion, up 5 percent from 2010.

Across Idaho, increased business profits help push the state to $52 billion in total income in 2011. All 44 Idaho counties saw an increase in personal income in 2011, the sixth time that has happened in 40 years. The last time was in 2007, just before the Great Recession struck.

Per-capita personal income was $34,274 in the Boise region, lower than the $34,500 in 2008 but nearly 5 percent higher than 2010. Nationally, the per-capita income in metro areas averaged $43,169.

The average wage per job in the Boise metro area was $39,821, up from $39,201 in 2010. Nationally, the average wage in metro areas grew to $50,295 from $48,933 in 2010.