Mapped: U.S. State Economies Compared to Entire Countries

Mapped: U.S. State Economies Compared to Entire Countries

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Much like how the world has a few big economic players that dwarf the rest, so too does America’s $29 trillion economy.

To put this unequal distribution in perspective, this map compares U.S. state economies by their gross domestic product (GDP) to that of a similarly-sized country.

State GDP data is sourced from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the latest available for the year 2023. Meanwhile, country GDP data from the International Monetary Fund, last updated October 2024.

Ranked: U.S. States by their Gross Domestic Product

California has the largest state economy in America, with an output nearly equal to India, the 5th largest economy in the world.

As an additional comparison, it matches India’s GDP with only about 3% of the population.

Other eye-opening comparisons show just how far ahead the U.S. economy really is, even to its closest peers.

For example, Texas is as big as Italy (8th largest in the world), New York as big as Canada (9th largest), Florida as big as Spain (15th largest) and Illinois as big as Saudi Arabia (19th largest).

Naturally these states are also the country’s most populous, and—particularly for California and New York—have emerged as global hubs for tech and financial companies.

But that doesn’t mean all American states are economic powerhouses rivaling other world economies.

Vermont, the U.S. state with the smallest GDP, has an economy comparable to Nepal, the world’s 101st largest economy. However, Nepal’s population is over 29 times larger than Vermont’s, which is just past half a million people.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

The map above shows that the American economy is unusually productive for its population. Check out Ranked: Top Countries by GDP per Capita to see how the U.S. has been climbing up the ranks since 2014.