The chart above shows the per capita GDP and change in per capita GDP over the last ten years in US regions. In the past ten years, the Northeast has gone from being one of two regions with a per capita GDP of over $50,000 to the only region with a per capita GDP of over $60,000.
Findings
- The difference between the region with the greatest absolute growth in per capita GDP, the West, and the region with the least, the Midwest, is $3,603.74.
- The West has 1.72 times the per capita absolute economic growth that the Midwest does in the past ten years.
- The difference between the region with the greatest growth rate in per capita GDP, the West, and the region with the least, the Northeast, is 6.58 percentage points.
- The West has 1.63 times the per capita economic growth rate that the Northeast does in the past ten years.
Caveats
- All percentages 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 Western US consists of California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming.
- 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.
Details
No one region surpassed another in per capita GDP over the ten year period. However, the South is rapidly catching up to the Midwest and the West is rapidly catching up to the Northeast. If these trends continue, the West could overcome the Northeast in the next decade, and the South could overcome the Midwest in the same period.
Each region has had at least one state whose per capita GDP has contracted over the past decade. The Northeast had two states whose per capita GDP shrank: Connecticut and New Jersey. The West had five: Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho. The South claims four: North Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi. The Midwest only had one in Missouri.
Sources
United States Census Bureau. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016." Accessed December 12, 2017. http://factfinder2.census.gov.
US Department of Commerce. 2018. "US Bureau of Economic Analysis." Accessed June 26, 2018. https://bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1#reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7003=1000&7035=-1&7004=naics&7005=1&7006=01000,02000,04000,05000,06000,08000,09000,10000,11000,12000,13000,15000,16000,17000,18000,19000,20000,21000,22000,23000,24000,25000,26000,27000,28000,29000,30000,31000,32000,33000,34000,35000,36000,37000,38000,39000,40000,41000,42000,44000,45000,46000,47000,48000,49000,50000,51000,53000,54000,55000,56000&7036=-1&7001=11000&7002=1&7090=70&7007=2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011,2010,2009,2008,2007,2006&7093=levels.