Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia and declined in Alaska in 2018 compared to 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2017, 47 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth in GDP while three states (Kansas, Louisiana, and Connecticut) recorded a decline in GDP.

As a result, nationwide growth in GDP, measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis, reached 2.9% in 2018, which is a seven percentage points higher than the 2017 level of 2.2%. Across all the states and the District of Columbia, GDP growth in 2018 ranged from 5.7% in Washington to a decline of 0.3% in Alaska.

In all the regions across the country, GDP growth accelerated from 2017 to 2018, led by the Western region. During this time, the Midwest and the South accelerated in GDP growth faster than the Northeast and the West.

The private goods and services producing sectors, as well as the government sector, contributed to the increase in Real GDP (2.9%) in 2018. Growth was widespread, with 19 of 22 industry groups contributing to the increase. Information; professional, scientific, and technical services; and durable goods manufacturing were the leading contributors to the increase in real GDP.

At the state level, 12 states recorded growth above the national growth rate of 2.9% while 37 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth between 2.9%-0.0%. Information services and retail trade were the leading contributors to the increase in real GDP in Washington which recorded the highest growth rate at 5.7%. Alaska recorded a decline of 0.3% in GDP growth during this time. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction was the biggest drag on Alaska’s state GDP in 2018. Revised annual data show that Alaska’s state GDP has been declining since 2016.

Tags: economics, macroeconomics, state and local markets, state GDP