How Economic Growth Varies by State

The economy has grown mightily in recent quarters, overall. But not all states share equally in the bounty. Some new data from the government illustrates this point.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in the third quarter of 2018, according to statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

However, the percent change in real GDP in the third quarter ranged from 5.8 percent in Washington to 0.0 percent in West Virginia.

West Virginia wasn’t alone in experiencing little or no growth: States with between 0.0 and 2.1 percent real GDP growth included Louisiana (1.9%), Arkansas (1.9%), Mississippi (1.9%), North Carolina (1.8%), Kentucky (2.1%), New Mexico (2.0%) and Wyoming (1.8%).

The District of Columbia had just 1.9% growth in real GDP during the period.

Some of the other higher-growth states included Texas (3.7%), Florida (3.8%), North Dakota (3.8%), Nevada (4.1%), Utah (4.4%), Arizona (4.1%) and Colorado (3.8%).

As you can see, this is a huge range. Some states are clearly in the doldrums while others are booming.

Find your state on this map: bea.gov