US States Ranked by GDP

The United States is the world's largest economy at roughly $30.8 trillion. But that single number hides a remarkable concentration: just five states, California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois, generate more than 40% of all US output. This guide ranks all 50 states by Gross Domestic Product and shows what each would look like as an independent country.

Top 10 US states by GDP

The top of the table is dominated by coastal states with major metros, plus Texas. These ten produce about 56% of the entire US economy.

California: the world's 5th largest economy

If California were a country, it would rank fifth, behind the United States, China, Germany and Japan, and just ahead of the United Kingdom and India. The mix is unique: Silicon Valley alone (Apple, Google, Meta and Nvidia headquarters in the broader Bay Area) accounts for several trillion dollars of market capitalization. Add Hollywood, the Port of Los Angeles (the busiest container port in North America), the Central Valley agricultural belt and roughly 39 million residents, and the math becomes inevitable.

Texas: the fastest-growing major economy

Texas crossed the $2 trillion mark in the early 2020s and has been gaining ground on California ever since. Its drivers: oil and gas (Permian Basin), tech migration from California to Austin, logistics through the Port of Houston, the largest cattle industry in the country, and rapid population growth, Texas added more residents than any other state during the last decade.

Complete ranking, all 50 states

Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP by state for 2025 in current dollars, released 9 April 2026. Values are rounded.

What drives the differences?

Five main factors explain the spread from California's $4.25 trillion to Vermont's $48 billion:

• Population. California has 39M residents, Vermont 650,000. Scale alone is a big multiplier.
• Sector mix. Tech and finance generate far more output per worker than agriculture or tourism.
• Major metros. The 10 largest metros (NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Washington DC, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix) drive a disproportionate share of GDP.
• Trade gateways. Ports (LA/Long Beach, NY/NJ, Houston, Seattle) and airports (Atlanta, DFW, ORD, JFK) concentrate logistics value.
• Energy. Texas, North Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska all rely heavily on oil and gas.

GDP per capita: a different ranking

Total GDP rewards population. GDP per capita tells a different story. By this measure the leaders are usually small, wealthy states or those with concentrated industries:

• New York and Massachusetts, finance, biotech, education.
• Washington, Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing.
• Connecticut, hedge funds and insurance.
• North Dakota, small population + oil boom = high per-capita output.
• Alaska and Wyoming, energy-heavy, low population.

Mississippi, West Virginia and Arkansas typically sit at the bottom of per-capita rankings.

How regions compare

When grouped by region (see our guide to the 4 US regions), the picture sharpens:

• The South is the largest region by combined GDP, thanks to Texas and Florida.
• The West is dominated by California, by itself more than half the region's output.
• The Northeast is the densest in GDP per square mile (New York City alone produces more than most countries).
• The Midwest is anchored by Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, historic industrial heartland.

State GDP versus countries: famous comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Related guides