Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 39 states and the District of Columbia in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the last quarter of 2023 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Ten states reported an economic contraction during this time, while Maryland reported no change. The percent change in real GDP ranged from a 5.0 percent increase at an annual rate in Idaho to a 4.2 percent decline in South Dakota.
Nationwide, growth in real GDP (measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis) increased 1.4 percent in first quarter of 2024, which is much lower than the fourth quarter 2023 level of 3.4 percent. Retail trade; construction; finance and insurance; and health care and social assistance were the leading contributors to the increase in real GDP across the country.
Regionally, real GDP growth increased in six out of the eight regions between the fourth quarter 2023 and first quarter of 2024. The percent change in real GDP ranged from a 2.7 percent increase in the Southwest region (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) to a 1.5 percent decline in the Plains region (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota).
At the state level, Idaho (5.0 percent) posted the highest GDP growth rate followed by Nevada (4.4 percent) and Oklahoma (4.2 percent). On the other hand, Louisiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and the Dakotas all posted economic contractions in the first quarter of 2024. The construction industry was the leading contributor to growth in 10 states including Idaho and Nevada, the states with the first-, second-largest increases in real GDP, respectively. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting were the leading contributors to growth in Oklahoma, the state with the third largest increase in real GDP. However, this industry was the largest drag on state economies in the Dakotas, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois.
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