per capita

adverb or adjective

per cap·​i·​ta (ˌ)pər-ˈka-pə-tə 

1

: per unit of population : by or for each person

the highest income per capita of any state in the union

2

: equally to each individual

Synonyms of per capita

• a shot
• each
• per
• a pop

Examples of per capita in a Sentence

we expect the students to receive less funding per capita this year due to a marked increase in the school-age population

Recent Examples on the Web

The City of Los Angeles total is the fewest killings in a year since 1966 and the lowest per capita homicide rate recorded since 1959. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026

Even so, a Mercury News analysis of city budgets showed that the department actually spent less per capita on public safety and similar amounts per total employees compared to similar cities across the Bay Area. —Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2026

Fast-forward to today, and Stockholm has the highest number of unicorns per capita of any city in the world outside of Silicon Valley. —Oscar Täckström, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026

However, Florida ranked 17th in residential solar installations per capita. —Bob Norberg, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, by heads

First Known Use

1682, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

per capita

adverb or adjective

per cap·​i·​ta (ˌ)pər-ˈkap-ət-ə 

: by or for each person

per capita income

Legal Definition

per capita

adverb or adjective

per cap·​i·​ta pər-ˈka-pə-tə 

1

: equally to each individual

all property to pass to the descendants per capita

—used of a method of distributing an especially intestate estate compare per stirpes

Note: Per capita distribution of an estate provides each descendant with an equal share of the estate's assets regardless of the degree of his or her kinship. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc., all receive equal shares.

2

: per unit of population : by or for each individual

a high per capita tax burden

Etymology

Medieval Latin, by heads