Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2021. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the percent change increase in real GDP ranged from 9.7 percent in Nevada to 1.8 percent in Alaska.
Nationwide, growth in real GDP, measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis, increased 6.7 percent in the second quarter of 2021, after an increase of 6.3 percent in the previous quarter. The increase in real GDP reflected the continued economic recovery, reopening of establishments, and continued government response related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accommodation and food services; information; and professional, scientific, and technical services were the leading contributors to the increase in real GDP across the country.
Regionally, real GDP growth increased in all the regions from the first quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2021. The percent change in real GDP ranged from 8.0 percent increase in Far West region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) to 5.9 percent increase in the Southeast region (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia).
Overall, 18 out of 22 industry groups contributed to the increase in real GDP. Accommodation and food services; information; and other services (except government and government enterprises) industry groups had the largest percent change from the preceding period during this time. Retail trade; agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting; transportation and warehousing industry groups posted significant declines compared to the previous quarter.
At the state level, accommodation and food services was the leading contributor to the increase in real GDP in Nevada (9.7 percent), the state with the highest real GDP growth and in Hawaii (8.9 percent), the state with the second largest increase.
