Economic Indicators

Real data from U.S. government sources — with plain-English context for every chart.

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Monthly Change in Nonfarm Payrolls

Number of jobs the U.S. economy added or lost each month — the most-watched number in the monthly jobs report.

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  • The BLS CES employment report is one of the most closely watched economic releases, with financial markets often reacting immediately when it is published on the first Friday of each month.
  • What are nonfarm payrolls? Nonfarm payrolls measures total paid employees at all U.S. businesses except farms, private households, nonprofit organizations, and the unincorporated self-employed.
  • Revisions from prior months are common and can be significant.
  • Learn more about the CES Survey

Labor Force Participation Rate

The share of the civilian noninstitutional population working or actively job hunting.

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  • Prime-age workers (25–54) are past typical school years and before typical retirement age, making their participation rate the clearest read on core labor market attachment.
  • Overall LFPR peaked near 67% in 2000 and has trended down over two decades, primarily reflecting population aging rather than structural job market weakness.
  • Prime-age LFPR has broadly recovered to near pre-pandemic levels (around 83–84%), suggesting the overall rate decline overstates true labor force disengagement. A rising rate can push unemployment higher as more people enter the job search.
  • Learn more about the Current Population Survey

Measures of Unemployment

Three BLS measures of labor market slack — from the narrow long-term unemployment rate to the official rate to a broad underutilization gauge that captures discouraged workers and the underemployed.

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  • U-1 — Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force. The most restrictive measure: only the persistently jobless.
  • U-3 (Official) — The headline rate: jobless people who actively searched for work in the past 4 weeks and are available to start. The Federal Reserve targets full employment using this measure.
  • U-6 — The broadest measure: adds marginally attached workers (including discouraged workers who've given up searching) and people working part-time for economic reasons (involuntary part-time).
  • When U-6 is significantly above U-3, there is substantial underutilization beyond what the headline rate captures — for example, if U-3 is 4% but U-6 is 7.5%, roughly 3.5 percentage points of the workforce is underemployed or discouraged.
  • Below ~5% U-3 is historically considered near full employment; the gap between U-3 and U-6 tends to narrow in tight labor markets.
  • Learn more about the Current Population Survey

Employment-to-Population Ratio

The share of the civilian noninstitutional population that is currently employed — a broad measure of labor market health unaffected by labor force exit.

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  • Unlike the unemployment rate, the Employment-to-Population ratio doesn't change when discouraged workers stop searching.
  • Prime-age workers (25–54) strip out the distorting effects of school enrollment and retirement trends, providing a cleaner signal of whether the core workforce is employed.
  • Overall EPOP fell sharply in 2020 and has gradually recovered, but remains below its pre-2020 peak — partly reflecting continued population aging.
  • Prime-age EPOP has recovered more fully and reached historically high levels in recent years, suggesting underlying labor demand has been strong for core working-age adults even as overall EPOP lags.
  • Learn more about the Current Population Survey

Unemployed Persons per Job Opening

The number of unemployed workers for every available job opening — a key gauge of labor market slack and tightness.

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  • A ratio of 1.0 means there is exactly one unemployed worker for each open job — a roughly balanced labor market.
  • Ratios significantly below 1.0 indicate a tight labor market with more openings than job seekers, often putting upward pressure on wages.
  • Ratios above 1.0 indicate slack — more job seekers than openings. Recessions are marked by significantly or persistently higher ratios, with peaks reaching 5–7 during the Great Recession and COVID.
  • Job openings data (JOLTS) is released about a month after the unemployment figure for the same month, so the most recent point may lag.
  • Learn more about the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

U.S. Population by Labor Status (Employed, Unemployed, Not in Labor Force)

The civilian noninstitutional population aged 16+ broken into three mutually exclusive groups that sum to the total population at every point in time.

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  • Labor force = Employed + Unemployed. The unemployment rate measures jobless share of the labor force, not of total population.
  • Employed + Unemployed + Not in Labor Force = Civilian Noninstitutional Population (16+).
  • The "Not in Labor Force" category is large (~105M) and growing with an aging population — retirees, students, caregivers, and discouraged workers all count here.
  • Watch for the blue employed area contracting relative to gray NILF as a sign of structural labor force withdrawal.
  • Learn more about the Current Population Survey
GDP Overview

Real GDP

The inflation-adjusted total value of all goods and services produced in the U.S. in a quarter.

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  • Two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth is the informal definition of a recession.
  • "Real" GDP removes the effect of inflation, making comparisons across time meaningful.
  • GDP growth above ~2% annually is generally considered healthy for a mature economy like the U.S.

Contribution to Real GDP Growth

How many percentage points each component (C, I, G, NX) added to or subtracted from quarterly GDP growth. Bars sum to total GDP growth.

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  • Consumer spending (C) typically contributes the most to GDP growth in healthy quarters.
  • Net exports (NX) contribution is usually small and often negative due to persistent U.S. trade deficits.
  • Investment (I) is the most volatile component — large swings signal shifting business confidence.
  • Source: BEA NIPA Table 1.1.2 — Contributions to Percent Change in Real GDP.
GDP Components — Detail

Personal Consumption (C)

Household spending on goods and services — the largest single component of GDP (~70%).

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  • Because consumer spending drives roughly 70% of the economy, this is the single most important GDP component to watch for signs of slowing growth.
  • Services (~65% of PCE) — intangible things you consume: doctor visits, rent, streaming subscriptions, haircuts. The largest and most stable slice; it rarely falls sharply even in downturns.
  • Nondurable Goods (~22% of PCE) — physical items used quickly: groceries, gas, clothing. Moderately volatile and sensitive to price changes (especially energy).
  • Durable Goods (~13% of PCE) — big-ticket items expected to last 3+ years: cars, appliances, furniture. The most volatile PCE component — it swoops down in recessions (people delay purchases) and bounces back fast.

Gross Private Investment (I)

Business spending on equipment, structures, and IP, plus residential construction and inventory changes.

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  • Investment is the most volatile GDP component — it falls sharply in recessions and tends to lead recoveries. Businesses cut spending on new equipment and construction long before consumers pull back.
  • Nonresidential Investment — business spending on long-lived productive assets. The broadest measure of private investment in capacity, spanning physical infrastructure, machinery, and knowledge assets.
    • Equipment — machines, computers, vehicles, and industrial tools that businesses use to produce goods and services. Rises when firms are confident about future demand.
    • Structures — factories, warehouses, office buildings, pipelines, and utility installations. Long construction lead times make this a lagging indicator — projects already in progress keep investment elevated even after conditions soften.
    • Intellectual Property Products — software, research & development, and entertainment originals (films, TV shows). The fastest-growing component over the past 30 years, reflecting the shift toward a knowledge-based economy.
  • Residential Investment — single-family homes, apartment buildings, manufactured housing, and renovations. Highly sensitive to mortgage rates; typically the first component to turn at a cycle peak and trough.
  • Inventory Change — the net change in unsold goods held by businesses. Can swing sharply: businesses build inventories in anticipation of demand and run them down in downturns. Negative inventory change subtracts from GDP even if final sales are strong.

Government Spending (G)

Federal, state, and local government spending on goods, services, and investment in infrastructure.

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  • This measures only direct government purchases of goods and services — it does not include transfer payments like Social Security or Medicare. Those programs redistribute income but don't represent government directly buying something produced.
  • Federal Defense — military pay, weapons procurement, operations, and maintenance. Driven by policy decisions and overseas commitments rather than the business cycle. Often counter-cyclical: defense spending has held steady or grown during recessions.
  • Federal Nondefense — spending by civilian agencies: the National Park Service, NASA, federal courts, infrastructure grants, and more. The smallest of the three components and relatively stable year-to-year.
  • State & Local — the largest government component. Covers schools, roads, bridges, police, fire departments, and other services that shape daily life. Unlike the federal government, most states must balance their budgets — so this component tends to be pro-cyclical, shrinking in recessions when tax revenues fall.

Net Exports

The inflation-adjusted value of U.S. exports minus imports — a negative value means the U.S. imports more than it exports (trade deficit).

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  • The U.S. has run a persistent trade deficit for decades, meaning imports exceed exports.
  • A weaker dollar makes U.S. exports cheaper abroad and tends to improve net exports over time.
  • Trade deficits are not inherently bad — they often reflect strong domestic demand for foreign goods.
Income & Savings

Real Disposable Income Per Capita

After-tax personal income per person, adjusted for inflation — what the average American actually has to spend or save.

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  • Real per capita DPI is one of the best single measures of living standards over time.
  • Stagnant or falling real DPI — even with nominal wage gains — signals inflation is outpacing income.
  • Rising real DPI generally supports consumer spending and broad economic growth.

Personal Saving Rate

Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — how much of after-tax income households are saving vs. spending.

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  • A very low saving rate can signal households are financially stretched or spending freely on confidence.
  • Saving rates spiked during COVID-19; the drawdown since drove strong consumer spending in 2021–2023.
  • Structural decline in saving can eventually constrain consumption if households become overleveraged.

Income Growth vs. Inflation

Year-over-year percent change in average hourly earnings vs. headline CPI. When wages grow faster than prices, workers gain purchasing power. When inflation outpaces wages, real incomes shrink.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · CES & CPI-U (SA)

  • The gap between wage growth and inflation — sometimes called "real wage growth" — is the single clearest indicator of whether workers are getting ahead or falling behind.
  • From 2021 to 2023, inflation surged well above wage growth, eroding purchasing power. The gap has since narrowed significantly.
  • Average hourly earnings are a broad nominal wage measure. They don't account for taxes or benefits, but they're the most timely monthly signal available.
  • BLS series: Avg. Hourly Earnings — CES0500000003 · Headline CPI — CUSR0000SA0. Both seasonally adjusted.
Credit & Debt

Household Debt Service Ratio

The share of after-tax income that households devote to required debt payments — mortgage principal and interest, plus consumer debt (credit cards, auto, student loans, etc.). A rising ratio means more income is going to debt obligations, leaving less to spend or save.

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Source: Federal Reserve · Financial Accounts of the United States · FRED: TDSP

  • A high debt service ratio limits consumer spending and makes households more vulnerable to income shocks like job loss or a recession.
  • The ratio rose sharply before the 2008 financial crisis as mortgage debt ballooned, then fell as households deleveraged and interest rates declined.
  • Rising interest rates push this ratio higher even if debt balances hold steady, as new borrowing costs more to service.
  • FRED series: TDSP — Seasonally adjusted, quarterly.

Delinquency Rates by Loan Type

The percentage of outstanding loans where payments are 30 or more days past due, reported by commercial banks. Rising delinquency signals growing financial stress among borrowers.

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Source: Federal Reserve · Charge-Off and Delinquency Rates · federalreserve.gov

  • Credit card delinquency is the most sensitive and fastest-moving indicator — consumers typically miss card payments before missing mortgage or installment loan payments.
  • Mortgage delinquency is the most economically consequential — it often spills into foreclosures and can destabilize housing markets.
  • Other Consumer Loans covers all non-credit-card consumer installment debt at commercial banks: auto loans, personal loans, and student loans. It provides a broader read on household borrowing stress beyond the credit card signal.
  • Delinquency spikes during recessions (2001, 2008–2009, 2020) are clearly visible; the COVID spike was brief due to widespread forbearance programs.
  • FRED series: Credit Cards — DRCCLACBS · Other Consumer Loans — DROCLACBS · Mortgages — DRSFRMACBS. Quarterly, SA.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Consumer Prices — Year-over-Year Change

CPI components shown as a year-over-year percent change — useful for understanding current inflation dynamics. Headline and Core shown by default; click the legend to add Food and Energy.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · CPI-U (Not Seasonally Adjusted) · bls.gov/cpi

  • Year-over-year (YoY) change compares prices to the same month a year ago, which smooths out seasonal patterns — this is the figure most often cited as "the inflation rate."
  • Headline CPI (CUUR0000SA0) includes all items in the basket and is the broadest measure of consumer inflation.
  • Core CPI (CUUR0000SA0L1E) excludes food and energy to reveal the underlying inflation trend less distorted by commodity volatility.
  • Food (CUUR0000SAF1) covers groceries (food at home) and restaurant meals (food away from home).
  • Energy (CUUR0000SA0E) includes gasoline, electricity, natural gas, and heating oil — one of the most volatile CPI components, often driving the gap between headline and core inflation.
  • Learn more about the Consumer Price Index

Consumer Price Changes by Category

The 10 categories with the largest price increases and the 10 with the largest price decreases (or smallest increases) from a selected set of detailed expenditure categories, over the period selected (not seasonally adjusted, comparing the same month across years). Bars diverge from a center line at 0% — green for price increases, red for decreases — with deeper color for larger moves.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · CPI-U (Not Seasonally Adjusted) · bls.gov/cpi

  • A curated set of detailed expenditure categories, ranked from biggest increase to biggest decrease. Each bar is a category's cumulative price change over the selected period — for example, at 5Y a value of +22% means prices in that category are 22% higher than the same month five years ago. This uses not seasonally adjusted data (CUUR series), standard for comparisons of a year or more since the same calendar month is compared across each period.
  • Relative importance (shown on hover) is the percentage weight a category carries in the overall CPI basket — roughly the share of a typical urban household's spending that goes to it. A high-weight category like shelter moves the headline inflation rate far more than a low-weight one like airline fares, even for the same percent change. Weights are published by the BLS and updated over time as spending patterns shift. Hover any bar to see its full place in the CPI hierarchy.
  • See the official BLS Table 2 (all detailed expenditure categories with relative importance)
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Consumer Prices — Cumulative Price Growth Since January 2020

CPI components set to 100 in January 2020. Values above 100 reflect cumulative price growth since just before COVID — useful for understanding how much prices have risen in total over that period.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · CPI-U (Not Seasonally Adjusted) · bls.gov/cpi

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services — including food, housing, clothing, transportation, medical care, and recreation.
  • Headline CPI includes all items in the basket and is the broadest measure of consumer inflation. Because it captures every category, it can be volatile — a single spike in gasoline or food prices can move the headline number significantly in a single month.
  • Core CPI excludes food and energy to reveal the underlying inflation trend less distorted by commodity volatility. The Federal Reserve and most economists focus on core measures when assessing whether inflation is becoming broad-based and entrenched.
  • When headline and core diverge sharply, energy or food is the driver — not broad-based demand-side inflation.
  • This chart uses not seasonally adjusted data — appropriate here since it's comparing each month directly against the fixed Jan 2020 base period rather than against the prior month.
  • BLS series: Headline — CUUR0000SA0 · Core (ex Food & Energy) — CUUR0000SA0L1E. All CPI-U, not seasonally adjusted.
  • Learn more about the Consumer Price Index
Producer Price Index (PPI)

Producer Prices — Year-over-Year Change

The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for their output — what a manufacturer, farmer, or service provider is paid, before goods or services reach the consumer. Year-over-year percent change is useful for understanding current producer-level inflation dynamics.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Producer Price Index (Not Seasonally Adjusted) · bls.gov/ppi

  • Because PPI sits earlier in the supply chain, rising producer costs often feed into consumer prices with a lag of one to six months, making PPI a useful leading indicator for CPI trends.
  • Year-over-year (YoY) change compares prices to the same month a year ago, which smooths out seasonal patterns.
  • Total Final Demand (WPUFD4) is the broadest headline measure.
  • FD less Food, Energy & Trade (WPUFD49116) strips out the three most volatile components — sometimes called "core" PPI — and is watched by the Fed as a signal of underlying producer price pressure.
  • FD Food (WPUFD411) — unprocessed and processed food products sold for final use.
  • FD Energy (WPUFD412) — electricity, natural gas, and petroleum products sold to final users.
  • FD Trade Services (WPUFD423) — retailer and wholesaler margins; measures the change in margins received by trade businesses rather than the price of goods themselves.
  • Learn more about the Producer Price Index

Producer Prices — Cumulative Price Growth Since January 2020

PPI series set to 100 in January 2020; values above 100 reflect cumulative price growth since just before COVID in January 2020.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Producer Price Index · bls.gov/ppi

  • How to read this chart: Each series is set to 100 in January 2020, so every later value shows the cumulative percent change since then. For example, a value of 132 in May 2026 means producer prices for that series were 32% higher than they were in January 2020 — not a 32% change from the prior month or year.
  • Overall trend: Total Final Demand rose only modestly through 2020 (about 102 by early 2021), then climbed sharply during 2021–2022 as supply chain disruptions, strong demand, and energy price spikes pushed producer prices up roughly 16% in just over a year. Growth has slowed markedly since 2023, with the index rising more gradually to around 132 by mid-2026 — reflecting a return to a more typical pace of producer price increases after the post-pandemic surge.
  • Series IDs: Total Final Demand (WPSFD4), FD less Food, Energy & Trade (WPUFD49116), FD Food (WPSFD411), FD Energy (WPSFD412), FD Trade Services (WPUFD423)

Ember State Performance Index

A composite index of five indicators measuring each state's economic performance relative to the U.S. average. 100 = U.S. baseline; above 100 indicates stronger performance, below 100 indicates weaker performance.

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  • What it measures: The Ember State Performance Index combines five key indicators into a single score that captures whether a state economy is running faster or slower than the national baseline. A score of 100 indicates that a state's overall economic performance is aligned with the national trend. Scores above 100 reflect stronger relative growth, while scores below 100 reflect weaker growth. Individual indicators may still outperform or underperform the U.S. even when the composite index is near 100.
  • Real GDP Growth
    • Weight: 30%
    • Definition: Percent change in real GDP (chained 2017 dollars). The broadest measure of economic output and the primary driver of the index. Directly comparable across states and to the national accounts.
    • Time Period: Most recent quarter vs. year-ago quarter
    • Source: BEA SQGDP9
    • Latest Update:
    • Next Update:
  • Payroll Employment Growth
    • Weight: 25%
    • Definition: Percent change in nonfarm payroll employment (jobs located in the state, not seasonally adjusted). Captures the labor market's absorptive capacity and reflects business investment decisions in real time. A reliable concurrent indicator of consumer spending.
    • Time Period: Most recent month vs. year-ago month
    • Source: BLS State and Area Employment (SAE) / CES
    • Latest Update:
    • Next Update:
  • Personal Income Growth
    • Weight: 20%
    • Definition: Real percent change in personal income, deflated by the national PCE price index. Covers wages, salaries, and transfer payments. Note: the national deflator removes aggregate inflation but does not capture state-level price differences.
    • Time Period: Most recent quarter vs. year-ago quarter
    • Source: BEA SQINC1; PCE deflator: BEA NIPA T20304
    • Latest Update:
    • Next Update:
  • Population Growth
    • Weight: 15%
    • Definition: Percent change in resident population. Sustained in-migration expands the labor force and drives demand for housing, retail, and services — a medium-term signal of structural economic capacity.
    • Time Period: Most recent quarter vs. year-ago quarter
    • Source: BEA SQINC1 LineCode 2
    • Latest Update:
    • Next Update:
  • Residential Building Permits
    • Weight: 10%
    • Definition: Percent change in rolling 12-month total permits issued. A forward-looking indicator of housing construction, developer confidence, and household formation expectations.
    • Time Period: 12-month sum, most recent vs. year-ago
    • Source: Census Bureau BPS via FRED
    • Latest Update:
    • Next Update:
  • Methodology: Each indicator is standardized relative to the U.S. average using z-scores, allowing states to be compared across metrics with different scales and volatility. States performing above the national trend receive positive contributions, while states below trend receive negative contributions. Extreme values are capped to reduce the influence of outliers. The standardized indicators are then combined using the weights above and scaled so that 100 represents the U.S. average.
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Real GDP by State

Percent change in real GDP (chained 2017 dollars) for each U.S. state and D.C.

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  • Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is adjusted for inflation and is measured in chained 2017 dollars. Accounting for inflation removes the effect of price changes so that comparisons reflect actual output growth.
  • A state's GDP is influenced by a variety of factors, including population, labor force participation, worker productivity, industry composition, business investment, consumer demand, and availability of natural resources.
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State Industry Snapshot - Real GDP

Comparison of states by an industry's economic importance measured by share of state GDP, growth, and GDP level.

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  • How to read this chart:
    • Position along the horizontal axis — the industry's share of the state's own GDP.
    • Position along the vertical axis — the industry's percent growth over the selected time period.
    • Bubble size — the industry's real GDP level in that state, scaled relative to the largest state shown. Sizes are only comparable within the current industry — switching industries resets the scale, so bubble sizes can't be compared across different industries.
  • The dashed reference lines mark the industry's national share and national growth rate, calculated the same way from the U.S. row, splitting the chart into four quadrants:
    • High Share / High Growth — Leaders: the industry makes up a bigger share of the state's economy than it does of the U.S. economy, and it's growing faster in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
    • High Share / Low Growth — Mature: the industry makes up a bigger share of the state's economy than it does of the U.S. economy, but it's growing slower in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
    • Low Share / High Growth — Emerging: the industry makes up a smaller share of the state's economy than it does of the U.S. economy, but it's growing faster in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
    • Low Share / Low Growth — Lagging: the industry makes up a smaller share of the state's economy than it does of the U.S. economy, and it's growing slower in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
  • Share is each industry's GDP divided by the sum of all industries in that state, not BEA's official "All Industries" total. We use the sum instead because of a quirk in how BEA calculates inflation-adjusted GDP: the parts don't always add up exactly to the published total. Using the sum keeps every state's industry shares adding up to a clean 100%, though it means the state totals implied here may differ very slightly from the official figures shown elsewhere on this page.
  • Why do some states show a ranking out of a number less than 51? States whose data for the selected industry is suppressed by BEA (see the disclosure note below) are excluded from the chart and its rankings entirely. For example, seven states are suppressed for Agriculture & Forestry, so rankings for that industry only go up to 44.
  • Disclosure of confidential information: when too few establishments make up an industry in a state, BEA suppresses the actual figure to protect the confidentiality of individual companies — shown as "(D)" on BEA's own data tables. Because a suppressed value doesn't mean an industry has no activity (the real figure is simply unpublished), affected states are excluded from this chart and its rankings for the selected industry, and are listed in the red note just below the Industry and Focus Region dropdowns above.
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Real GDP - Head to Head Region Comparison

Real GDP by industry — levels or growth. Click any column header to sort.

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  • Data source: BEA State Quarterly GDP by Industry (SQGDP9), real GDP in chained 2017 dollars.
  • Disclosure issue: for some state/industry combinations, BEA doesn't publish a figure — usually because too few companies operate in that industry in that state, and reporting a number could reveal information about a specific business. When that happens for the current period or the comparison period being measured, the cell shows "N/A" instead of a misleading percentage, and that row's difference column(s) show "N/A" too.
  • Levels and the difference columns: when Levels is selected, comparing a state's dollar GDP level against the United States as a whole isn't meaningful — the U.S. total dwarfs any single state — so Level Diff and Percent Diff both show "N/A" whenever either Focus or Comparison Region is set to United States. Choose two states to see a level and percent difference instead.
  • Total Private and Total Government: BEA doesn't publish these as their own SQGDP9 line items, so they're computed here by summing the underlying industry levels ourselves (Total Government = Federal Civilian + Military + State & Local). Because inflation-adjusted GDP components don't always add up exactly under BEA's chain-weighting methodology, Total Private plus Total Government may not sum precisely to All Industries.
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Real Personal Income by State

Inflation-adjusted percent change in personal income for each U.S. state and D.C.

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  • Personal income is the sum of three components, each driven by different economic forces:
    • Earnings — wages and salaries, employer supplements (pension and health-insurance contributions), and proprietors' income. The largest component; moves closely with employment and hours worked.
    • Personal current transfer receipts — government payments such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and veterans' benefits. More stable and countercyclical: they typically rise during downturns.
    • Property income — dividends, interest, and rental income. More concentrated among higher-income households and sensitive to interest-rate cycles and stock market performance.
  • Inflation adjustment: growth rates shown are real — nominal personal income (BEA SQINC1) is deflated by the national PCE price index (BEA NIPA T20304). This removes the national inflation component so comparisons reflect purchasing-power gains rather than price-level increases.
  • Note, however, that state-level inflation differences exist but are not captured here. BEA Regional Price Parities show prices can vary significantly across states, with states like Hawaii and New York roughly 15–20% above the national average, while Mississippi and Arkansas are 13–15% below.
  • States that rely heavily on a few industries (ex: Federal Government in DC) are more likely to experience larger fluctuations in income when those industries perform well or poorly.
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Population Growth by State

Percent change in resident population for each U.S. state and D.C.

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  • Population change is attributed natural change (births minus deaths), domestic migration (people moving to/from elsewhere in the U.S.), and international migration.
  • Following the pandemic, Florida and Texas experienced rapid population growth, though the pace has moderated in recent years.
  • Looking ahead, state-level population trends will be shaped by housing affordability, job opportunities, remote work policies, and other economic and demographic factors.
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Nonfarm Payroll Employment Growth by State

Percent change in nonfarm payroll employment for each U.S. state and D.C. Not seasonally adjusted. Hover over a state to see employment levels and net change.

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  • Nonfarm payroll employment, which counts jobs located in the state (an establishment survey), not people who live there. It excludes farm workers, household workers, the self-employed, and military, and is different from civilian/resident employment (LAUS), which some other BLS state employment figures use.
  • Figures are not seasonally adjusted — appropriate here since every comparison is the same month a year (or more) apart, which cancels the seasonal component by construction.
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State Industry Snapshot - Employment

Comparison of states by an industry's economic importance measured by share of state employment, growth, and employment level.

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  • How to read this chart:
    • Position along the horizontal axis — the industry's share of the state's own employment.
    • Position along the vertical axis — the industry's percent growth over the selected time period.
    • Bubble size — the industry's employment level in that state, scaled relative to the largest state shown. Sizes are only comparable within the current industry — switching industries resets the scale, so bubble sizes can't be compared across different industries.
  • The dashed reference lines mark the industry's national share and national growth rate, calculated the same way from the U.S. row, splitting the chart into four quadrants:
    • High Share / High Growth — Leaders: the industry makes up a bigger share of the state's employment than it does of U.S. employment, and it's growing faster in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
    • High Share / Low Growth — Mature: the industry makes up a bigger share of the state's employment than it does of U.S. employment, but it's growing slower in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
    • Low Share / High Growth — Emerging: the industry makes up a smaller share of the state's employment than it does of U.S. employment, but it's growing faster in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
    • Low Share / Low Growth — Lagging: the industry makes up a smaller share of the state's employment than it does of U.S. employment, and it's growing slower in the state than the U.S. average for this industry.
  • Share is each industry's employment divided by Total Nonfarm Payroll employment in that state. Unlike real GDP, employment counts add up exactly, so this matches the official state total shown elsewhere on this page.
  • Employment figures are not seasonally adjusted — appropriate here since every comparison is the same calendar month a year (or more) apart, which cancels the seasonal component by construction.
  • Why do some states show a ranking out of a number less than 51? States without a published figure for the selected industry (see the non-disclosure note below) are excluded from the chart and its rankings entirely.
  • BLS non-disclosure rules: not all sub-industries are published for every state — BLS withholds a figure when publishing it could reveal information about a small number of employers. States affected for the currently selected industry are listed in the red note just below the Industry and Focus Region dropdowns above.
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Employment - Head to Head Region Comparison

Nonfarm payroll employment by industry — levels or growth. Not seasonally adjusted. Click any column header to sort.

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  • Data source: BLS State and Area Employment (SAE) / Current Employment Statistics (CES). Nonfarm payroll employment — excludes farm workers, household workers, self-employed, and military. All figures are not seasonally adjusted — appropriate here since every comparison is the same calendar month a year (or more) apart, which cancels the seasonal component by construction.
  • Year-over-year comparison: each growth value compares the latest available month to the same month one year (or more) prior. A positive value means more jobs than at the anchor period in that sector.
  • Hierarchy: Total Nonfarm Payroll is the broadest measure. Total Private Industries covers all private industries. The Government row is likewise an aggregate — it sums the Federal, State, and Local sub-rows below it.
  • BLS non-disclosure rules: not all sub-industries are published for every state — BLS withholds a figure when publishing it could reveal information about a small number of employers. Those cells show "—".
  • Diff. column (pp): when Growth is selected, the percentage-point gap between Focus and Comparison YoY growth rates. Positive = Focus region growing faster than Comparison in that sector.
  • Levels and the difference columns: when Levels is selected, comparing a state's raw employment count against the United States as a whole isn't meaningful — the U.S. total dwarfs any single state — so Level Diff and Percent Diff both show "N/A" whenever either Focus or Comparison Region is set to United States. Choose two states to see a level and percent difference instead.
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Residential Building Permits by State

Percent change in 12-month rolling total residential building permits (all structure types) for each U.S. state and D.C. Hover over a state to see permit totals and the net change.

Concept:
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  • 12-month rolling total: rather than showing a single month (which is volatile for smaller states), each value sums the most recent 12 months of permits and compares it to the equivalent 12-month window one year prior — computed as ((Current 12-Month Total ÷ Prior 12-Month Total) − 1) × 100. This smooths seasonal noise and short-term construction lumpiness, giving a clearer picture of the underlying trend.
  • What permits measure: a residential building permit authorizes construction of a new housing unit before a single shovel breaks ground. Permit issuance is a leading indicator of residential investment — typically 1 to 3 months ahead of actual housing starts and 6 to 12 months ahead of completions. Rising permits signal that developers expect sufficient demand to justify new supply.
  • Permit activity is heavily influenced by mortgage rates, local zoning and land-use regulation, and construction input costs. States with restrictive zoning tend to show structurally lower permit volumes relative to population than states with more permissive land-use policies.
  • The growth rate of states with very small permit counts can swing dramatically on a single large multifamily project. Examine both levels and growth rates for a full picture.
  • Per 10,000 Residents: takes the 12-month rolling total of permits for a state and divides by that state's population, then multiplies by 10,000 — in other words, "how many permits per 10,000 people who live there." This puts every state on equal footing regardless of size, so a small state issuing a lot of permits relative to its population can outrank a much larger state with more permits in raw terms. Only the latest period is shown, since population is a point-in-time figure rather than something to compare across a time horizon.
  • Data source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (monthly, not seasonally adjusted) — the same underlying data published on census.gov/construction/bps, distributed via the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database. Population for the Per 10,000 Residents view comes from BEA's Regional Economic Accounts (SQINC1).
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High-Propensity Business Applications by State

Percent change in 12-month rolling total high-propensity business applications for each U.S. state and D.C. Hover over a state to see application totals and the net change.

Concept:
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  • What a "high-propensity" business application is: the Census Bureau classifies a subset of new business applications as "high-propensity" — those judged likely to become an actual employer business with a payroll. This includes applications from corporations, applications with a planned wage date, applications in industries with historically high startup rates, and applications that hire employees within the first few quarters. It excludes the large volume of sole-proprietor and side-business applications unlikely to ever hire staff, making it a better leading indicator of new job creation than total business applications.
  • 12-month rolling total: rather than showing a single month (which is volatile for smaller states), each value sums the most recent 12 months of high-propensity applications and compares it to the equivalent 12-month window one year prior — computed as ((Current 12-Month Total ÷ Prior 12-Month Total) − 1) × 100. This smooths seasonal noise and short-term filing lumpiness, giving a clearer picture of the underlying trend.
  • Why it matters: rising high-propensity applications signal entrepreneurial activity that is likely to translate into new hiring and business formation in the following months — typically showing up in payroll data within two to four quarters.
  • Per 10,000 Residents: takes the 12-month rolling total of high-propensity applications for a state and divides by that state's population, then multiplies by 10,000 — in other words, "how many applications per 10,000 people who live there." This puts every state on equal footing regardless of size, so a small state with a lot of entrepreneurial activity relative to its population can outrank a much larger state with more applications in raw terms. Only the latest period is shown, since population is a point-in-time figure rather than something to compare across a time horizon.
  • Data source: U.S. Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics (monthly, not seasonally adjusted) — the same underlying data published on census.gov/econ/bfs, distributed via the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database. Not seasonally adjusted data is appropriate here since the 12-month rolling total already accounts for seasonality. Population for the Per 10,000 Residents view comes from BEA's Regional Economic Accounts (SQINC1).
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