As the stock market regularly hits new highs and the unemployment rate continues to fall, memories of the Great Recession are beginning to fade – and justifiably so.
As a whole, the U.S. economy has experienced strong growth over the past eight years with little sign of slowing down. The Bureau of Economic Analysis recently reported that real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3% in Q3 of 2017, the highest since Q1 of 2015.
Despite strong recovery at a national level, some states have fared better than others. With that in mind, researchers at ConsumersAdvocate.org decided to analyze each state's GDP growth to find which states had outperformed the national average since the end of the Great Recession.
Here are the states with the largest GDP growth since Q3 2009.
How does your state stack up?
Methodology
ConsumersAdvocate.org analyzed data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). For every state, it calculated a "Post-Recession Growth Rate", which is the percent change in real GDP from Q3 2009 to Q2 2017. States were ordered based on their respective growth rates.
The fastest growing industry in each state was determined using the same methodology. The "Annual GDP" figure reported for each state is the Q2 2017 estimated annual rate provided by the BEA in current US Dollars. Data was pulled on November 22, 2017.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
19. Florida
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 16.6%
- Annual GDP: $965 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Management of companies and enterprises
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
18. Oregon
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17%
- Annual GDP: $236 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Management of companies and enterprises
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
17. Nebraska
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17.2%
- Annual GDP: $119 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Utilities
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16. South Carolina
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17.2%
- Annual GDP: $218 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Arts, entertainment, and recreation
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
15. Iowa
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17.4%
- Annual GDP: $188 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Management of companies and enterprises
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
14. Ohio
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17.6%
- Annual GDP: $647 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Mining
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13. Georgia
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17.7%
- Annual GDP: $551 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Management of companies and enterprises
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
12. Massachusetts
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 17.8%
- Annual GDP: $523 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Mining
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11. Indiana
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 18.4%
- Annual GDP: $357 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Durable goods manufacturing
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10. Minnesota
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 19.1%
- Annual GDP: $352 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Mining
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9. Tennessee
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 20.5%
- Annual GDP: $343 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Management of companies and enterprises
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8. Colorado
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 21.3%
- Annual GDP: $338 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Arts, entertainment, and recreation
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
7. Oklahoma
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 22.2%
- Annual GDP: $189 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Mining
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6. Michigan
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 23.1%
- Annual GDP: $511 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Durable goods manufacturing
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5. California
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 24.7%
- Annual GDP: $2,717 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Information
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4. Utah
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 24.8%
- Annual GDP: $165 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
3. Washington
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 25.1%
- Annual GDP: $500 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Retail trade
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2. Texas
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 30.5%
- Annual GDP: $1,678 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Management of companies and enterprises
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
1. North Dakota
- Post-Recession Growth Rate: 48.2%
- Annual GDP: $55 Billion
- Fastest Growing Industry: Mining