Encyclopedia of Municipal Bonds: A Reference Guide to Market Events, Structures, Dynamics, and Investment Knowledge

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value per capita

Also known as full value per capita and equalized value per capita, value per capita is the value of all taxable real property in a municipality divided by population, and a key measure of socioeconomic levels within a municipality, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The national median full value per capita of all publicly rated cities in the United States is $100,304.

Connoisseurs of this gauge of municipal wealth (and creditworthiness) should look to places where the well-to-do enjoy second or third homes—Aspen, Colorado, for example, has a full value per capita of $2.6 million. Edgartown, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, has an equalized value per capita of $1.93 million, while Nantucket’s is $1.95 ...