Poorest US state rivals Germany: GDP per capita in US and Europe

The poorest US state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is higher than that of Europe's top five economies, except for Germany. However, Mississippi competes closely with Germany, with a difference of just €1,500. 

GDP per capita, adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), in the US also surpasses that of all EU countries, except for Luxembourg and Ireland, which are outliers.

How do GDP per capita figures, both in current prices and adjusted for PPP, in the US's richest and poorest states compare with European countries, specifically the EU and the UK? 

We derived the 2024 country figures from the IMF's Global Outlook report, reflecting data as of October. We made the calculation for US states using seasonally adjusted datasets from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) for Q3 2024, and population estimates from the US Census Bureau as of July.

In Q3 2024, GDP per capita in the US ranged from €49,780 ($53,872) in Mississippi to €246,523 ($266,787) in the District of Columbia. At the lower end, West Virginia (€56,554), Arkansas (€56,917), Alabama (€58,061), and South Carolina (€59,375) followed Mississippi. 

Among the top five, New York (€107,485), Massachusetts (€101,666), Washington (€99,844), and California (€96,836) followed the District of Columbia. The figures are shown in US dollars in the chart.

For the EU in 2024, GDP per capita ranged from €15,773 in Bulgaria to €125,043 in Luxembourg. The EU average stood at €40,060, while the US average was €80,023 ($86,601).

Among Europe's top five economies, Germany recorded the highest GDP per capita at €51,304, followed by the UK at €48,441 and France at €44,365. Italy stood at €37,227, while Spain recorded €33,070. 

The top five European economies are defined by their