20210413_IBT_States_GDP
Percentage share of U.S. real gross domestic product by state (2020) Statista/IBT

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 12 percent of Americans live in California, the state contributed 14.8 percent to GDP in 2020. New York state, where 6.3 percent of Americans live, had a share of 7.6 percent of GDP in 2020. Florida, which has a 6 percent share of population, only contributed 5.1 percent of GDP.

As far as regions go, the Southeast, including populous states Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, contributed the biggest share of roughly a fifth to U.S. GDP. The Far West had a share of just under one fifth, largely driven by California.