Useful Stats: Per Capita GDP by State, 2004-2008

With the release of advance 2008 and revised GDP statistics by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), SSTI has prepared a table showing real GDP per capita (in chained 2000 dollars) for every state and the District of Columbia for the five-year period from 2004 to 2008. The table also includes:

• Ranking for 2008 state GDP per capita;
• Comparison of 2008 GDP per capita to the U.S. average;
• Five-year percent change in state GDP per capita; and,
• Ranking of the five-year percent change.

In 2008, the real GDP per capita for the U.S. as a whole was $37,899, a decrease from the previous year's figure of $37,967. The previous annual decrease was in 2001. As often is the case, the District of Columbia had the highest GDP per capita, more than three times the national average. Delaware was the state with the highest GDP per capita at $56,401 - 49 percent higher than the U.S. average. Rounding out the top five states were Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Overall, only 18 states in addition to Washington D.C. had a real GDP per capita higher than the U.S. average in 2008.

Over the five years, North Dakota had the largest real GDP per capita growth, rising by 20.6 percent to $37,832 in 2008. This was followed by New York, rising by 15.1 percent to $49,499. Oregon, South Dakota, and Montana were the other states with the largest percent increases from 2004 to 2008. Compared to last year's analysis where 13 states had double-digit GDP per capita growth over the five years (see the June 11, 2008 issue of the Digest), from 2004 to 2008 there were only three states with increases over 10 percent.

Seven states had a decrease in GDP per capita from 2004 to 2008, with Michigan, Georgia and Indiana all contracting by more than 2.4 percent. The five-year change for the U.S. as a whole was a 4.9 percent increase, with 25 of the states exceeding that increase.

SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061709t.htm

The BEA update, which includes links to all data and explains how the GDP by state is calculated, is available at: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/gsp_newsrelease.htm