With 50 states in the Union and 100 percent to go around, the average state’s contribution to U.S. GDP would technically be two percent. While a lot of states are in that percentage range, there are some economic powerhouses that surpass that goal easily.
The seven most populous states, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio are also the seven biggest contributors to U.S. GDP, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Yet, California is way ahead of the competition as far as per-capita contribution goes. While 11.7 percent of Americans live in California, the state contributed 14.2 percent to GDP in Q1 of 2023. New York state, where 5.9 percent of Americans live, had a share of 8.1 percent of GDP that quarter. Florida, which has a 6.7 percent share of population, only contributed 5.5 percent of GDP.
As far as regions go, the Southeast, including populous states Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, contributed the biggest share of just over a fifth to U.S. GDP. The Far West held the second largest share of almost exactly one fifth, largely driven by California.
