Between 2000 and 2025, US real GDP grew by +69.2%. Yet the gains were far from evenly distributed.
Draw a line down the middle of the country between Minnesota and the Dakotas, and you'll find that states in the western half generally experienced much stronger economic growth than those in the eastern half.
Draw another line at the southern border of Missouri, Kentucky, and Virginia—and now look at all 22 states in the northeastern quadrant. Not one of them experienced growth at or above the national average. In all the other 28 states, 19 were above average, and sometimes far above.
Fastest-Growing States
North Dakota: +154%
Utah: +144%
Texas: 130%
Washington: +120%
Idaho: +104%
Slowest-Growing States
West Virginia: +31%
Rhode Island: +31%
Louisiana: +25%
Connecticut: +25%
Michigan: +21%