The chart above shows the per capita annualized nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in each US state as of the fourth quarter of 2018 in millions of dollars, the change from five years ago, and the per capita GDP ten years prior. Only three states have seen a drop in their per capita GDP either over the past five or ten years: Alaska, Wyoming, and Nevada.
Findings
- The difference between the state with the largest per capita GDP, Massachusetts, and the state with the smallest, Mississippi, is $48,906.59 (up from $47,146.04 five years ago and down from $51,154.67 ten years ago). North Dakota had the largest per capita GDP five years ago, Alaska had the highest ten years ago and Mississippi had the smallest both five and ten years ago.
- Massachusetts has 2.25 times the per capita GDP that Mississippi does. The ratio of largest per capita GDP to smallest per capita GDP was down from 2.37 five years ago and down from 2.51 ten years ago.
- The median per capita GDP in the 50 US states is $61,767 (up from $50,573 five years ago and up from $47,674 ten years ago) and the mean $63,032 (up from $52,978 five years ago and up from $50,313 ten years ago).
- Forty-nine states saw their per capita GDP rise over the past five years while one saw its per capita GDP decline.
- Forty-seven states saw their per capita GDP rise over the past ten years while three saw their per capita GDP decline.
Caveats
- GDP data is from the fourth quarters of 2018, 2013, and 2008.
- Census data is from 2000 and 2010.
- 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.
Details
In absolute terms, Alaska saw the largest decrease over the past five years with a decline of $1,501.91. Washington had the largest growth with a gain of $22,459.42. Over the past ten years, Wyoming had the largest decrease with a decline of $12,797.59 while North Dakota had the greatest increase with a gain of $33,234.57.
In relative terms, Alaska had the largest decrease over the past five years with a 1.91% drop in per capita GDP while Washington had the greatest increase with a 35.49% rise in per capita GDP. Over the past ten years, Wyoming had the largest decrease with a 15.31% drop in per capita GDP while North Dakota had the largest growth with a 67.12% rise in per capita GDP.
There were two states with a per capita GDP of over $80,000 ten years ago, one state five years ago, and six states now. On the flip side, there were 31 states with a per capita GDP of less than $50,000 ten years ago, 24 states five years ago, and seven states now.
Oregon overcame the most states in the five year period going from having the 34th largest per capita GDP to the 22nd largest per capita GDP. Conversely, Oklahoma was surpassed by 12 states in the five year period going from having the 27th highest per capita GDP to the 39th. Over the past ten years, North Dakota surpassed 16 states going from the 21st highest per capita GDP to the 5th, while Nevada was surpassed by 19 going from the 5th largest per capita GDP in the US to the 24th.
Data
| State | Fourth Quarter 2008 | Fourth Quarter 2013 | Fourth Quarter 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 38,334.33 | 39,822.36 | 46,630.05 |
| Alaska | 84,982.56 | 78,732.27 | 77,230.37 |
| Arizona | 49,338.33 | 43,630.17 | 55,586.66 |
| Arkansas | 36,902.41 | 39,393.12 | 44,518.4 |
| California | 57,817.5 | 62,892.73 | 81,020.58 |
| Colorado | 58,652 | 58,536.57 | 74,961.05 |
| Connecticut | 68,408.17 | 69,360.51 | 78,244.29 |
| Delaware | 68,903.14 | 70,292.92 | 85,236.89 |
| Florida | 46,040.41 | 43,396.27 | 56,333.52 |
| Georgia | 49,805.81 | 48,368.09 | 62,089.66 |
| Hawaii | 54,929.07 | 56,293.64 | 68,675.54 |
| Idaho | 42,546.81 | 39,643.16 | 50,166.5 |
| Illinois | 51,677.52 | 58,466.75 | 68,581.76 |
| Indiana | 44,170.78 | 48,214.84 | 57,316.54 |
| Iowa | 45,822.79 | 51,780.16 | 61,443.88 |
| Kansas | 46,640.54 | 51,229.85 | 59,429.02 |
| Kentucky | 38,611.01 | 42,210.7 | 48,767.74 |
| Louisiana | 47,461.62 | 50,738.81 | 56,358.05 |
| Maine | 39,165.42 | 41,021.23 | 49,195.44 |
| Maryland | 56,383.88 | 59,785.29 | 72,360.24 |
| Massachusetts | 60,925.03 | 70,492.52 | 87,914.95 |
| Michigan | 38,293.39 | 44,327.01 | 54,340.98 |
| Minnesota | 53,363.86 | 58,720.31 | 70,687.22 |
| Mississippi | 33,827.89 | 34,331.41 | 39,008.36 |
| Missouri | 45,943.62 | 46,749.88 | 53,980.74 |
| Montana | 40,133.12 | 43,726.75 | 50,165.6 |
| Nebraska | 48,886.53 | 58,675.95 | 68,301.54 |
| Nevada | 63,449.55 | 49,137.01 | 62,488.1 |
| New Hampshire | 48,997.48 | 53,910.91 | 65,361.38 |
| New Jersey | 58,468.03 | 61,253.91 | 72,193.9 |
| New Mexico | 46,183.27 | 43,436.92 | 49,268.08 |
| New York | 57,366.36 | 71,621.17 | 87,800.08 |
| North Carolina | 51,314.8 | 48,741.55 | 60,364.58 |
| North Dakota | 49,515.57 | 81,477.45 | 82,750.14 |
| Ohio | 42,657.4 | 49,641.33 | 59,735.55 |
| Oklahoma | 45,600.95 | 49,841.67 | 54,180.53 |
| Oregon | 47,886.44 | 47,812.81 | 63,450.9 |
| Pennsylvania | 47,219.43 | 53,106.93 | 63,240.7 |
| Rhode Island | 45,199.6 | 51,015.94 | 58,277.43 |
| South Carolina | 40,119.84 | 40,360.07 | 50,669.89 |
| South Dakota | 46,686.87 | 54,982.68 | 64,535.85 |
| Tennessee | 44,145.85 | 46,704.88 | 58,880.73 |
| Texas | 58,170.31 | 60,767.98 | 72,322.32 |
| Utah | 51,056.65 | 49,214.31 | 65,437.49 |
| Vermont | 42,331.4 | 46,654.93 | 54,582.01 |
| Virginia | 56,872.95 | 57,284.37 | 68,034.79 |
| Washington | 60,231.44 | 63,289.71 | 85,749.14 |
| West Virginia | 34,936.21 | 38,578.65 | 42,724.32 |
| Wisconsin | 45,661.6 | 50,406.45 | 60,219.95 |
| Wyoming | 83,587.09 | 68,805.91 | 70,789.5 |
Sources
US Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2019. "GDP by State." Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-state.
United States Census Bureau. September 2012. "United States Summary: 2010: Population and Housing Unit Counts." Accessed January 23, 2018. https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf.