Colorado Outperforms U.S. in Real GDP Growth

Today the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its updated real GDP data by state for 2013. There were increases in 49 of the 50 states, with Alaska being the one state showing a decline.

In 2013 U.S. Real GDP growth expanded at a rate of 1.8%, compared to 2.5% in 2012. Private sector growth grew by 2.3% in 2013 compared to 3.0% in 2012.

In short, Colorado outperformed the U.S. in output growth last year. While the rate for the U.S. declined, real GDP growth for Colorado increased.

Nationally, the top six contributors to absolute growth were:

• Real estate and rental and leasing
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
• Health care and social assistance
• Finance and insurance
• Wholesale trade
• Professional, scientific, and technical services.

Combined, these 6 categories accounted for 53.6% of the change in U.S. output in 2013.

The Colorado Real GDP growth increased from 3.0% in 2012 to 3.8% in 2013. Real private sector growth expanded at a rate of 4.2% in 2013 compared to 3.4% in 2012.

In Colorado the leading contributors to absolute growth were:
• Mining
• Real estate and rental and leasing
• Professional, scientific, and technical services
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
• Construction
• Government.

Combined these six sectors accounted for 75% of the change in Colorado output in 2013.

There is a significant difference between the composition of the top contributors for the U.S. and Colorado. In part this helps explain why the Colorado economy has outperformed the U.S. economy over the past five years.

Note: There is a slight difference between the national GDP and the national GDP calculated as a summary by state outputs. Details are explained on the BEA website. Also, for methodological reasons, the contributions to absolute growth were calculated using the nominal GDP data.

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