The chart above shows the annualized nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in each US region as of the first quarter of 2021 in millions of dollars, the change from the previous quarter, and the GDP one year prior. Every single region's economy grew over the past quarter and contracted over the past year.
Findings
- The difference between the region with the largest GDP, the South, and the region with the smallest, the Midwest, is $2,480,924.40 million (up from $2,406,306.00 million last quarter and up from $2,399,791.90 million last year). The South and the Midwest had the largest and smallest GDP respectively both last quarter and last year.
- The South has 1.58 times the GDP that the Midwest does. The ratio of largest GDP to smallest GDP was same as 1.58 last quarter and up from 1.57 last year.
- Of the four regions, 4 saw a rise of GDP in current dollars from the previous quarter while 0 saw a contraction.
- Of the four regions, 4 saw a rise of GDP in current dollars from last year while 0 saw a contraction.
Caveats
- Data is from the first quarter of 2020, the fourth quarter of 2020, and the first quarter of 2021.
- The data is seasonally adjusted in current dollars.
- Growth rates may differ from those provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis as the BEA's growth rates are based on chained dollars in conjunction with the chain index or the quality index for real GDP.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
- The Northeastern US consists of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- The Midwestern US consists of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
- The Southern US consists of Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
- The Western US consists of California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming.
Details
In absolute terms, the Northeast had the worst performance over the previous quarter with a gain of $106,302.50 million. The South had the best performance with a gain of $192,840.00 million. Year over year, the Northeast had the worst performance with a loss of $35,671.40 million while the South had the best performance with a loss of $202,918.30 million.
In relative terms, the Northeast had the worst performance over the previous quarter with a 2.21% gain in GDP while the South had the best performance with a 2.93% gain in GDP. Year over year, the Northeast had the worst performance with a 0.73% drop in GDP while the South had the best performance with a 3.08% drop in GDP.
The South accounted for nearly one-third of the economic output of the US at 31.13%. The largest contributor to the South's GDP, Texas, accounted for over one-fourth of the region's GDP at 27.71%. California, the West's largest contributor, accounted for over half of the region's GDP at 55.90%. New York, the Northeast's largest economy contributed over one-third at 35.78% of the region's GDP. The Midwest's largest economy, Illinois, only made up one-fifth of the region's GDP at 21.14%.
No region overcame another region in the quarter or over the past year. Although the South had the largest economy overall, its component states had the second smallest median GDP at $256,530.9 million. The West which had the second largest GDP overall, had the smallest median GDP of component states at $185,163.2 million showing just how much of a role its largest economy played in boosting its overall GDP. The Northeast which had the third largest economy, consists of the states with the second largest median GDP at $294,545.9 million. And the Midwest which ranks last in overall GDP ranks first in the median GDP of its component states with a median GDP of $348,754.5 million (nearly double that of the West's) showing that the states in the region have similarly sized economies.
Sources
US Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2021. "GDP by State." Accessed July 20, 2021. https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-state.