U.S. economic growth depends heavily on the performance of individual states. But some contribute more than others. California, for instance, blossomed in 2017 as the fifth largest economy in the world, boasting a GDPlarger than that of countries like the U.K., France and India. Meanwhile, Alaska, a state with valuable natural resources, is struggling with the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 6.5%.
In order to determine which states are pulling the most weight, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. Our data set ranges from GDP growth to startup activity to share of jobs in high-tech industries. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.
