The Most Productive US States, According to New Research
Friday, November 17th, 2023
New research has revealed the most productive states, with New York coming out on top.
The study by business experts Upflip analysed the newest labor productivity data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to see which states added the most value to the economy for every hour worked.
It found that New York is the most productive state statistically. The state saw 14,296,359,000 hours worked in 2022 and a value-added output of $1,725,176,181,000. Calculating these two brings out a value-added per hour worked of $120.67, a small margin higher than any other state.
The Pacific Northwest state of Washington takes second place on the list. It comes in with 5,502,872,000 hours worked in 2022 and a value-added output of $589,474,184,000, equating to around $107.12 added per hour worked.
Coming in third is the state of Delaware, which had 691,655,000 hours worked in 2022 and a value-added output of $71,992,738,000. Calculating these two together brings out a value of $104.09 for every hour worked in the state.
California comes in fourth place on the list, and the state has the highest hours worked in the top ten with 28,667,560,000 and the highest value-added output with $2,946,631,780,000. However, putting these two numbers together only brings out a value-added per hour worked of $102.79, giving the state fourth place.
The New England state of Connecticut ranks out of the top five, with $101.40 added per hour worked. This is due to 2,663,494,000 hours being operated in the state in 2022 and a value-added output of $270,067,808,000.
|
Rank |
State |
Hours worked (2022) |
Value-added output (2022) |
Value added per hour worked |
|
1 |
New York |
14,296,359,000 |
$1,725,176,181,000 |
$120.67 |
|
2 |
Washington |
5,502,872,000 |
$589,474,184,000 |
$107.12 |
|
3 |
Delaware |
691,655,000 |
$71,992,738,000 |
$104.09 |
|
4 |
California |
28,667,560,000 |
$2,946,631,780,000 |
$102.79 |
|
5 |
Connecticut |
2,663,494,000 |
$270,067,808,000 |
$101.40 |
|
6 |
Massachusetts |
5,788,586,000 |
$578,919,659,000 |
$100.01 |
|
7 |
Alaska |
478,625,000 |
$47,769,139,000 |
$99.80 |
|
8 |
New Jersey |
6,540,085,000 |
$613,007,042,000 |
$93.73 |
|
9 |
Illinois |
9,381,312,000 |
$858,996,574,000 |
$91.56 |
|
10 |
North Dakota |
636,005,000 |
$57,416,183,000 |
$90.28 |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Upflip said: “While it can be fairly easy to work out which states are adding the most value to the economy, measuring this against the hours worked is where it gets interesting, with many potential surprises featuring in this top ten from all corners of the country. When it comes to the value-added per hour worked statistic, the US average sits at $79.48, and around half of all 50 states sit below this, showing that many states are providing well for the economy, regardless of size and population.”
