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 millions of dollars, the change from five years ago, and the per capita GDP ten years prior. Only Alaska and Wyoming have seen a drop in their per capita GDP over the past ten years.
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 $44,037.28 five years ago and up from $43,879.81 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.
- 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 up from 2.24 five years ago and up from 2.36 ten years ago.
- The median per capita GDP in the 50 US states is $63,512.13 (up from $54,443.40 five years ago and up from $46,104.00 ten years ago) and the mean $64,747.78 (up from $56,380.15 five years ago and up from $47,875.06 ten years ago).
- Of the 50 states, 50 had the per capita GDP rise over the past five years while 0 had the per capita GDP decline.
- Of the 50 states, 48 had the per capita GDP rise over the past ten years while 2 had the per capita GDP decline.
Caveats
- GDP data is from the fourth quarters of 2020, 2015, and 2010.
- 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, Wyoming had the worst performance over the past five years with a gain of $172.98. Washington had the best performance with a gain of $23,847.42. Over the past ten years, Alaska had the worst performance with a decline of $2,892.15 while Washington had the best performance with a gain of $39,617.36.
In relative terms, Wyoming had the worst performance over the past five years with a 0.26% gain in per capita GDP while Utah had the best performance with a 33.64% rise in per capita GDP. Over the past ten years, Alaska had the worst performance with a -3.80% drop in per capita GDP while Washington had the best performance with a 71.70% rise in per capita GDP.
There were 0 states with a per capita GDP of over $80,000 ten years ago, 0 states five years ago, and 7 states now. On the flip side, there were 31 states with a per capita GDP of less than $50,000 ten years ago, 16 states five years ago, and 6 states now.
Utah (from 23rd to 10th largest per capita GDP) rose 13 spots in the five year period. Conversely, Wyoming (from 9th to 24th) fell 15 spots in the five year period. Over the past ten years, Utah (from 31st to 10th) rose 21 spots, while Wyoming (from 2nd to 24th) fell 22 spots.
Data
| State | Fourth Quarter 2010 | Fourth Quarter 2015 | Fourth Quarter 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 37,104.37 | 41,777.3 | 48,100.16 |
| Alaska | 76,199.29 | 69,935.7 | 73,307.14 |
| Arizona | 39,574.47 | 47,455.87 | 60,064.06 |
| Arkansas | 35,412.69 | 40,703.72 | 45,596.48 |
| California | 54,310.63 | 69,479.68 | 84,939.8 |
| Colorado | 52,085.24 | 63,882.36 | 79,749.05 |
| Connecticut | 66,559.75 | 73,824.3 | 80,838.15 |
| Delaware | 65,489 | 78,695.98 | 86,518.72 |
| Florida | 39,757.18 | 48,758.07 | 59,777.53 |
| Georgia | 43,575.79 | 54,054.91 | 65,776.09 |
| Hawaii | 51,218.81 | 61,689.95 | 66,724.72 |
| Idaho | 35,719.85 | 42,242.64 | 55,727.87 |
| Illinois | 52,416.47 | 62,375.88 | 69,097.55 |
| Indiana | 44,078.88 | 51,048.44 | 59,427.94 |
| Iowa | 46,030.19 | 57,826.24 | 63,785.45 |
| Kansas | 46,177.8 | 54,848.63 | 62,509.33 |
| Kentucky | 38,712.63 | 44,822.27 | 49,885.04 |
| Louisiana | 50,688.25 | 50,118.61 | 54,767.33 |
| Maine | 38,962.68 | 44,148.99 | 51,069.93 |
| Maryland | 55,852.93 | 65,246.78 | 74,981.31 |
| Massachusetts | 63,775.74 | 78,054.56 | 91,416.68 |
| Michigan | 39,851.8 | 48,501.95 | 53,445.7 |
| Minnesota | 53,190.89 | 63,423.95 | 72,679.14 |
| Mississippi | 32,319.48 | 35,653.8 | 39,808.05 |
| Missouri | 43,251.62 | 49,036.61 | 55,364.93 |
| Montana | 39,207.71 | 46,167.28 | 53,582.57 |
| Nebraska | 51,450.52 | 63,433.83 | 72,856.93 |
| Nevada | 46,464.07 | 54,212.83 | 66,070.29 |
| New Hampshire | 49,211.07 | 59,102.3 | 66,313.85 |
| New Jersey | 56,453.54 | 65,104.02 | 72,214.54 |
| New Mexico | 41,888.05 | 44,046.2 | 49,842.68 |
| New York | 62,193.55 | 76,623.41 | 89,014.54 |
| North Carolina | 44,389.93 | 53,219.25 | 63,238.81 |
| North Dakota | 55,530.33 | 79,691.08 | 82,947.59 |
| Ohio | 43,957.29 | 53,293.33 | 60,168.96 |
| Oklahoma | 41,729.58 | 48,477.52 | 50,855.17 |
| Oregon | 43,084.21 | 53,820.6 | 66,952.01 |
| Pennsylvania | 48,050.1 | 56,395.02 | 62,936.01 |
| Rhode Island | 47,530.18 | 54,441.76 | 58,503.16 |
| South Carolina | 35,916.76 | 44,973.5 | 53,785.06 |
| South Dakota | 47,903.66 | 60,167.78 | 70,183.87 |
| Tennessee | 40,763.93 | 51,766.37 | 59,285.61 |
| Texas | 50,339.7 | 62,035.37 | 72,387.59 |
| Utah | 43,925.63 | 54,912.99 | 73,383.62 |
| Vermont | 43,923.28 | 49,392 | 53,884.11 |
| Virginia | 53,592.68 | 61,178.19 | 70,794.08 |
| Washington | 55,257.64 | 71,027.58 | 94,875 |
| West Virginia | 35,801.09 | 37,905.3 | 40,992.42 |
| Wisconsin | 45,699.69 | 54,445.04 | 61,221.52 |
| Wyoming | 67,172.38 | 65,567.95 | 65,740.93 |
Sources
US Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2021. "GDP by State." Accessed May 7, 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.