Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think these numbers prove how just because a state has more people, it doesn't mean that's the greatest thing for its economies. Are these retirees? Low-income earners looking for cheaper COL? Clearly population size matters, but it's more than that: what are the residents of the states actually doing and how well off are they?
Notice NY is still half a trillion higher than FL, even though FL has surpassed it in population. That's because of the retirees and people looking for lower COL. Clearly, NY is doing better than FL economically, but FL continues to attract people simply because it's cheap.
IL having a larger GDP than PA is most likely due to the fact that PA's population is spread out among the sate, with two large clusters on either end. Outside Philly and Pitt metros, there are plenty of people stuck in bad economies. OTOH, Illinois is almost entirely concentrated around Chicago and Chicago's economy is doing well. It doesn't have the steel mine cities of central PA weighing it down the same way.
Notice NJ jumps from 11th in population to 8th in GDP, leaping over GA NC and MI which are larger in population. NJ has a strong economy. Yes it's tied to NYC and Philly for the most part, but the state is wealthy and has a lot going for itself still. Meanwhile, GA has Atlanta and basically nothing else and Sunbelt wages are low. Same with NC dropping from 9th in population to 12th in GDP. Like FL, people are attracted for low COL, but its economy is not as strong as NJ's.
WA jumps from 13th population to 10th in GDP. MI drops from 10th in population to 14th in GDP. MD jumps from 19th population to 15th GDP.
Clearly there is a connection between strong economies and higher wages creating more GDP. Population gains that come in the form of people looking for a cheap house or based heavily on retirement is not something to be massively boasting about. So many posters on here want to just shout "LOOK HOW MANY PEOPLE X STATE GAINED WE'RE SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU" when in actuality the state's GDP still shows that it's not that great. Judge a state/country on its GDP.
Especially consider GDP per capita. That's one of the best ways of looking at this. According to Wiki, FL ranks 39th in GDP per capita. Meanwhile, NY ranks 1st. So is your population gain in FL really that great? GA is 29th, NC is 32nd, SC is 46th, TN is 33rd, AZ is 40th. Those are states that everyone is so proud of for gaining so many people and how they're so important and all. Yet the GDP per capita absolutely sucks, meaning a lower living standard in these states experiencing a population boom. Everyone wants to s*** on IL, yet they're still 12th in GDP per capita. Everyone wants to compare TX being better than CA, yet CA is 5th and TX is 20th.
Also something to consider, 14 of the top 20 states by GDP are "blue" states. If we throw PA back in there, it's 15/20. And DC is the #1 but not considered as a state on here, but also very blue.
New Jersey is pretty much all New York City and Philadelphia, just as you said. It does have a healthy economy, but it’s by virtue of its location. Not to take away from it, but it’s the reality of the situation.
New Jersey is pretty much all New York City and Philadelphia, just as you said. It does have a healthy economy, but it’s by virtue of its location. Not to take away from it, but it’s the reality of the situation.
Yes, if it weren't for NYC and Philly, the state would be much different. However, within the state itself, we value unions, we spend a lot on public education, and we don't take the cheap way out at every possible turn. Based on GDP per capita, our standard of living is higher no matter what the reason is. But not everyone relies on NYC or Philly employment and those that live and work in the state have a higher standard of living because of the emphasis the state puts on maintaining the higher standard of living. You pay for what you get is always the truth. There is a reason Southern states are cheaper.
California and Texas could essentially act as their own independent countries at this point.
Also good to see PA near the top in the Northeast for % growth. I wonder if PA will surpass Ill over the next decade?
Both Illlinois and PA have 2.1% growth; PA has slightly more people and Illinois has a bigger economy by $76 billion so Illinois is actually pulling away from PA. So far, no.
Both Illlinois and PA have 2.1% growth; PA has slightly more people and Illinois has a bigger economy by $76 billion so Illinois is actually pulling away from PA. So far, no.
If Philly continues to expand, I could see it. Chicago has been doing better than Philly for a very long time. Philly is playing catch up and PA is not too far behind IL for Philly's comeback to make a difference.
True, Illinois' GDP continues to do very well, but of course not all of that is Chicago--the Illinois portion (minus the ~1 million+ living in IN and WI) of Chicago's GDP only accounts for ~70% of it. Chicago's economy is strong despite its financial woes (yes, the city's specifically, not the state's, both of which are significant), but ag and manufacturing throughout the state still count for a lot and add a lot to the state's GDP. It's not all just Chicago.
Both Illlinois and PA have 2.1% growth; PA has slightly more people and Illinois has a bigger economy by $76 billion so Illinois is actually pulling away from PA. So far, no.
But in the last decade PA has had a larger increase in GDP and an equal increase this past year. I don't see how that means Ill is pulling away. All trends have pointed to PA eventually surpassing Ill in the metrics, it wasn't meant to be shade toward Illinois...
According to Breitbart though, all these statistics are lies and really, the top blue states are the bottom states economically. Who should I believe?
lol im kidding. I'm impressed how much Florida has grown GDP wise. The Mississippi Delta though could use some more economic growth.
Breitbart probably will just blame the "globalists" and the "liberal elites" for creating "fake news" to show that blue states are better, when everyone knows that actually Mississippi and West Virginia are the real Americans that make this country prosperous.
It may have grown its GDP, but its per capita still sucks reflecting that its a lot of low-income people looking for a cheap place to live, which means they're probably not highly educated. And we can never forget about the retiree population that made their money in these high GDP per capita states and moved to FL. They invested in their future by making their money in places with large economies, higher wages, better schools, and many of them were union workers with union benefits still. The people rushing to FL at a young age are not going to have this lavish retirement that the current retirees have because they're incomes are lower and the economy is not the same.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
