Useful Stats: State Total and Per Capita Real GDP and Personal Income 2004-2009

U.S. real gross domestic domestic product (GDP) and per capita personal income fell in 2009 as the economic crisis spread across the country, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Most states experienced the same declines, particularly in the Great Lakes region. In 2009, real GDP fell in every state, except Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia. West Virginia was the only state to increase its per capita income (current dollars, unadjusted) in 2009. The 2008 and 2009 crisis ended the period of steady growth in most states since 2001.

Real GDP declined in 38 states and all eight of the U.S. regions tracked by the BEA in 2009. The breakdown by industry indicates that durable goods manufacturing and construction were hardest hit by the recession, while the mining sector and the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector grew significantly. Losses in durable goods manufacturing hit hardest in the Great Lakes region where real GDP fell by 3.4 percent, the largest decline in the country. Michigan, which experienced the greatest losses in the region, saw its GDP reduced by 5.2 percent in 2009. Nevada, however, experienced an even larger decline, losing 6.4 percent of its real GDP, due in part to the stagnant construction industry.

Over the five-year period between 2004 and 2009, Wyoming led the country in percentage gains in GDP, followed by North Dakota, Utah, Oklahoma and Washington. North Dakota led in per capita GDP gains during the same period, followed by Wyoming, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Iowa. The District of Columbia continues to have the highest GDP per capita, by far, with $146,360 per resident, two-and-a-half times higher than the national average.

View the State Total Real GDP 2004-2009 table at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/011911t.htm. View the State Per Capita GDP 2004-2009 table at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/011911ta.htm.

Personal income also fell in the U.S. as a whole and in most states in 2009. The losses were greatest in the Great Lakes, Southeast and Southwest. Farm earnings boosted incomes in many Midwest and Plains states, while state and local government earnings have recently fallen as governments have initiated cuts in light of falling revenues. Though Wyoming ranks near the bottom of the states in total personal income, it led the country in percentage gains between 2004 and 2009. Texas' total personal income fell in 2009, but ranked third in income gains throughout the five year period. The District of Columbia also leads the country in per capita personal income, followed by Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland.

View the State Total Personal Income 2004-2009 table at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/011911t.htm. View the State Per Capita Personal Income 2004-2009 table at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/011911t.htm.