The States With the Best and Worst Economies

Maine ranks as having the best economy in New England and 11th best of all states. Despite relatively stagnant population growth in recent years, Maine has reported better economic growth than most states. From the first quarter in 2015 through the first quarter in 2020, Maine’s annualized GDP growth rate was 1.7%. The increase in economic output was driven in part by rapid growth in the state’s mining, quarrying, and gas extraction industry, as well as management and information.

Maine’s job market has also proven relatively resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 6.6%, lower than all but five other states and the 11.1% national rate.

As is the case in most states, there are fewer people working in Virginia now than there were five years ago. Still, the 1.8% overall decline in employment in the state from June 2015 to June 2020 is less severe than the comparable 2.7% decline nationwide. For those who are working in the state, incomes are slightly higher than average. Per capita personal income in Virginia is $57,910 per year, compared to the national figure of $54,526.

The higher incomes in the state may explain why residents are less likely to live in poverty than most Americans. Virginia’s poverty rate of 10.7% is below the 13.1% national poverty rate.

As is the case in much of the South, incomes are generally low in South Carolina. Per capita income in the state is just $43,702 a year, about $11,000 less than the national average. Additionally, the state’s 15.3% poverty rate is well above the 13.1% national rate.

Still, South Carolina’s economy has grown relatively rapidly in recent years. Over the last half decade, South Carolina’s GDP grew by 13.6% — more than most states and well above the 9.8% economic growth nationwide.

Largely due to COVID-19, there were fewer people working in Kansas in June 2020 than there were five years prior. Still, the state’s job market appears to have weathered the pandemic better than most, so far. As of June, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, lower than most other states’ jobless rates and the 11.1% national rate.

The stronger job market may partially explain why people in Kansas are less likely to live in poverty than the typical American. Kansas’s poverty rate of 12.0% is slightly lower than the 13.1% national rate.

The GDP of Texas grew at an annualized rate of 2.4% over the past five years, as compared to the 1.9% nationwide rate. This was driven in part by the state’s rapidly expanding population. The state’s population grew by 15.3% from 2010 through 2019. Though Texas is the leading oil and gas producer in the nation, the state’s management, utilities, and information sectors grew rapidly over the past five years, stimulating the state’s economy.