The chart above shows the per capita annualized nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in each US state as of the first quarter of 2020 in millions of dollars, the change from five years ago, and the per capita GDP ten years prior. Only North Dakota has seen a drop in its per capita GDP over the past five years.
Findings
- The difference between the state with the largest per capita GDP, Massachusetts, and the state with the smallest, Mississippi, is $51,497.88 (up from $49,192.59 five years ago and up from $40,906.73 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 2.28 times the per capita GDP that Mississippi does. The ratio of largest per capita GDP to smallest per capita GDP was down from 2.39 five years ago and down from 2.29 ten years ago.
- The median per capita GDP in the 50 US states is $63,437.49 (up from $52,667.49 five years ago and up from $44,025.40 ten years ago) and the mean $64,738.96 (up from $55,372.28 five years ago and up from $46,124.93 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.
- Fifty states saw their per capita GDP rise over the past ten years while zero saw their per capita GDP decline.
Caveats
- GDP data is from the first 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, North Dakota had the worst performance over the past five years with a decline of $851.19. Washington had the best performance with a gain of $21,747.08. Over the past ten years, Wyoming had the worst performance with a gain of $2,217.78 while Washington had the best performance with a gain of $37,076.44.
In relative terms, North Dakota had the worst performance over the past five years with a 1.01% drop in per capita GDP while Washington had the best performance with a 31.74% rise in per capita GDP. Over the past ten years, Wyoming had the worst performance with a 3.36% rise in per capita GDP while Washington had the best performance with a 69.72% rise in per capita GDP.
There were no states with a per capita GDP of over $80,000 ten years ago, one state five years ago, and seven states now. On the flip side, there were 37 states with a per capita GDP of less than $50,000 ten years ago, 16 states five years ago, and five states now.
Oregon (from 31st to 22nd largest per capita GDP) and Nevada (from 32nd to 23rd) each overcame nine states in the five year period. Conversely, Wyoming (from 8th to 19th) was surpassed by 11 states in the five year period. Over the past ten years, Utah (from 35th to 18th) surpassed 17 states, while Louisiana (from 18th to 36th) was surpassed by 18.
Data
| State | First Quarter 2010 | First Quarter 2015 | First Quarter 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 35,313.11 | 40,956.43 | 48,173.31 |
| Alaska | 72,547.38 | 72,256.91 | 75,984.29 |
| Arizona | 38,023.4 | 45,781.92 | 57,987.89 |
| Arkansas | 33,568.23 | 40,104.69 | 45,942.86 |
| California | 52,146.1 | 67,212.85 | 84,940.79 |
| Colorado | 49,922.87 | 62,522.44 | 78,039.79 |
| Connecticut | 65,893.9 | 72,098.35 | 80,498.79 |
| Delaware | 63,949.8 | 78,568.14 | 84,734.07 |
| Florida | 38,577.3 | 46,439.71 | 58,733.73 |
| Georgia | 42,358.21 | 51,932.44 | 64,151.53 |
| Hawaii | 49,088.77 | 59,645.55 | 71,373.17 |
| Idaho | 34,876.13 | 41,811.59 | 52,186.55 |
| Illinois | 50,559.63 | 60,924.41 | 70,259.99 |
| Indiana | 42,013.33 | 50,398.12 | 58,319.33 |
| Iowa | 44,256.97 | 56,150.03 | 62,723.46 |
| Kansas | 43,330.07 | 52,267.34 | 61,379.76 |
| Kentucky | 36,775.46 | 43,471.62 | 49,601.13 |
| Louisiana | 48,404.17 | 52,177.58 | 57,830.71 |
| Maine | 38,554.58 | 42,431.39 | 51,035.22 |
| Maryland | 53,783.03 | 62,786.77 | 74,799.1 |
| Massachusetts | 61,092.94 | 75,412.57 | 91,720.85 |
| Michigan | 37,673.88 | 47,013 | 54,799.83 |
| Minnesota | 49,757.34 | 61,691.62 | 72,341.48 |
| Mississippi | 31,640.65 | 35,277.32 | 40,222.97 |
| Missouri | 42,846.82 | 48,770.26 | 55,879.73 |
| Montana | 38,010.24 | 46,509.71 | 52,801.81 |
| Nebraska | 48,738.16 | 62,173.6 | 70,721.29 |
| Nevada | 44,913.65 | 51,873.3 | 65,584.47 |
| New Hampshire | 47,591.82 | 56,120.23 | 67,702.49 |
| New Jersey | 56,089.77 | 64,116.89 | 73,610.6 |
| New Mexico | 40,306.7 | 44,142.2 | 50,245.22 |
| New York | 62,187.81 | 75,853.69 | 89,254.09 |
| North Carolina | 42,900.71 | 52,045.93 | 62,138.42 |
| North Dakota | 50,316.31 | 84,469.91 | 83,618.72 |
| Ohio | 42,037.28 | 52,403.32 | 60,597.9 |
| Oklahoma | 39,703.35 | 50,123.49 | 53,882.96 |
| Oregon | 42,689.44 | 51,876.58 | 66,297.21 |
| Pennsylvania | 46,102.73 | 55,462.41 | 64,167.59 |
| Rhode Island | 46,300.71 | 53,190.25 | 60,675.76 |
| South Carolina | 34,821.67 | 43,082.17 | 53,680.23 |
| South Dakota | 44,582.52 | 57,201.36 | 66,433.47 |
| Tennessee | 39,954.08 | 49,674.3 | 60,178.33 |
| Texas | 48,356.73 | 62,582.77 | 75,216.47 |
| Utah | 41,930.25 | 52,931.65 | 69,257.19 |
| Vermont | 42,324.38 | 48,343.48 | 55,816.7 |
| Virginia | 51,941.53 | 59,413.35 | 69,991.75 |
| Washington | 53,177.94 | 68,507.3 | 90,254.38 |
| West Virginia | 34,461.53 | 37,776.59 | 41,463.17 |
| Wisconsin | 43,793.83 | 53,026.52 | 61,420.02 |
| Wyoming | 66,059.41 | 67,610.08 | 68,277.19 |
Sources
US Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2020. "GDP by State." Accessed August 19, 2020. 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.