State-Level GDP in the Third Quarter of 2021

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 37 states and the District of Columbia in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter of 2021. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the percent change increase in real GDP ranged from 6.0 percent in Hawaii to -3.3 percent in New Hampshire and North Dakota.

Nationwide, growth in real GDP, measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis, increased 2.3 percent in the third quarter of 2021, after an increase of 6.7 percent in the previous quarter. Professional, scientific, and technical services; finance and insurance; and government and government enterprises were the leading contributors to the increase in real GDP across the country.

Regionally, real GDP growth increased in all the regions from the second quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2021. The percent change in real GDP ranged from 3.1 percent increase in the Southwest region (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) to 0.8 percent increase in the Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) and Plains (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) regions.

Overall, 14 out of 22 industry groups contributed to the increase in real GDP. Arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry groups had the largest percent change from the preceding period during this time. Utilities; retail trade; and construction industry groups posted significant declines compared to the previous quarter.

At the state level, accommodation and food services was the leading contributor to the increase in real GDP in Hawaii (6.0 percent), the state with the highest real GDP growth. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting was the leading contributor to the decrease in North Dakota, while government and government enterprises, primarily military, was the leading contributor to the decrease in New Hampshire. These were the two states with the largest decreases.