The chart above shows the per capita annualized nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in each US state as of the fourth quarter of 2020 in dollars, the change from the previous quarter, and the GDP one year prior. Every single state's economy grew over the past quarter.
Findings
- The difference between the state with the largest per capita GDP, Washington, and the state with the smallest, Mississippi, is $55,066.95 (up from $54,927.08 last quarter and up from $53,276.27 last year). Washington had the largest per capita GDP last quarter and last year and Mississippi had the smallest per capita GDP last quarter and last year.
- Washington has 2.38 times the per capita GDP that Mississippi does. The ratio of largest per capita GDP to smallest per capita GDP was down from 2.41 last quarter and up from 2.34 last year.
- The median per capita GDP in the 50 US states is $63,512.13 (up from $62,313.21 last quarter and down from $63,771.54 last year) and the mean $64,747.78 (up from $63,666.08 the previous quarter and down from $65,536.12 last year).
- Of the 50 states, 50 saw a rise in per capita GDP in current dollars from the previous quarter while zero saw a contraction.
- Of the 50 states, 13 saw a rise in per capita GDP in current dollars from last year while 37 saw a contraction.
Caveats
- GDP data is from the fourth quarter of 2019, the third quarter of 2020, and the fourth quarter of 2020.
- Census data is from 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, Michigan had the worst performance over the previous quarter with a gain of $345.00. North Dakota had the best performance with a gain of $2,596.08. Year over year, Wyoming had the worst performance with a drop of $6,584.16 while Utah had the best performance with a gain of $2,237.61.
In relative terms, Michigan had the worst performance over the previous quarter with a 0.65% gain in per capita GDP while South Dakota had the best performance with a 3.44% gain in per capita GDP. Year over year, Wyoming had the worst performance with a 9.10% drop in per capita GDP while Utah had the best performance with a 3.15% drop in per capita GDP.
The number of states with a per capita GDP of over $80,000 was seven last year, six the previous quarter, and seven this past quarter. Conversely, the number of states with a per capita GDP of less than $50,000 was four last year, seven the previous quarter, and six this past quarter.
Alaska (went from 14th highest per capita GDP to 11th highest) rose three spots over the previous quarter. On the flip side, New Jersey (from 12th to 15th) fell three spots. Year over year, Utah (17th to 10th) rose seven spots. Conversely, Wyoming (15th to 24th) fell nine spots.
Data
| State | Fourth Quarter 2019 | Third Quarter 2020 | Fourth Quarter 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 47,895.46 | 47,337.57 | 48,100.16 |
| Alaska | 76,981.57 | 70,980.99 | 73,307.14 |
| Arizona | 59,295.65 | 59,182.65 | 60,064.06 |
| Arkansas | 45,473.3 | 44,826.19 | 45,596.48 |
| California | 86,031.13 | 83,759.86 | 84,939.8 |
| Colorado | 79,707.25 | 78,396.51 | 79,749.05 |
| Connecticut | 81,336.07 | 79,349.11 | 80,838.15 |
| Delaware | 86,731.76 | 85,159.93 | 86,518.72 |
| Florida | 59,916.59 | 59,124.27 | 59,777.53 |
| Georgia | 65,458.32 | 64,790.39 | 65,776.09 |
| Hawaii | 71,308.56 | 66,063.03 | 66,724.72 |
| Idaho | 54,728.3 | 54,575.52 | 55,727.87 |
| Illinois | 69,626.77 | 68,248.49 | 69,097.55 |
| Indiana | 59,358.95 | 58,498.47 | 59,427.94 |
| Iowa | 62,604.98 | 62,319.6 | 63,785.45 |
| Kansas | 62,599.97 | 61,499.45 | 62,509.33 |
| Kentucky | 50,335.94 | 49,124.47 | 49,885.04 |
| Louisiana | 57,149.36 | 53,950.28 | 54,767.33 |
| Maine | 51,932.34 | 50,535.43 | 51,069.93 |
| Maryland | 74,996.78 | 74,064.6 | 74,981.31 |
| Massachusetts | 92,126.42 | 90,155.86 | 91,416.68 |
| Michigan | 54,988.79 | 53,100.7 | 53,445.7 |
| Minnesota | 73,436.88 | 71,529.73 | 72,679.14 |
| Mississippi | 39,646.28 | 39,059.05 | 39,808.05 |
| Missouri | 55,545.79 | 54,407.29 | 55,364.93 |
| Montana | 54,612.78 | 52,489.1 | 53,582.57 |
| Nebraska | 72,933.26 | 71,049.98 | 72,856.93 |
| Nevada | 67,301.67 | 64,990.07 | 66,070.29 |
| New Hampshire | 66,856.67 | 65,568.68 | 66,313.85 |
| New Jersey | 73,131.88 | 71,163.14 | 72,214.54 |
| New Mexico | 51,920.89 | 48,940.28 | 49,842.68 |
| New York | 92,453.16 | 87,992.47 | 89,014.54 |
| North Carolina | 63,110.37 | 62,306.81 | 63,238.81 |
| North Dakota | 85,448.51 | 80,351.51 | 82,947.59 |
| Ohio | 60,968.98 | 59,243.26 | 60,168.96 |
| Oklahoma | 53,741.79 | 49,817.49 | 50,855.17 |
| Oregon | 67,524.82 | 66,260.51 | 66,952.01 |
| Pennsylvania | 64,432.7 | 62,074.99 | 62,936.01 |
| Rhode Island | 59,222.26 | 58,030.7 | 58,503.16 |
| South Carolina | 54,409.66 | 53,071.11 | 53,785.06 |
| South Dakota | 68,844.6 | 67,851.34 | 70,183.87 |
| Tennessee | 60,008.93 | 58,155.8 | 59,285.61 |
| Texas | 74,032.23 | 70,474.93 | 72,387.59 |
| Utah | 71,146.01 | 71,866.3 | 73,383.62 |
| Vermont | 54,847.29 | 53,181.43 | 53,884.11 |
| Virginia | 70,807.11 | 69,739.36 | 70,794.08 |
| Washington | 92,922.55 | 93,986.13 | 94,875 |
| West Virginia | 42,353.35 | 40,211.09 | 40,992.42 |
| Wisconsin | 62,236.04 | 60,576.9 | 61,221.52 |
| Wyoming | 72,325.09 | 63,871.26 | 65,740.93 |
Sources
US Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2021. "GDP by State." Accessed March 30, 2021. 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.