California's economy, the largest in the US, is about the size of India

Just as there are several major economic players globally, the US economy, at $29 trillion, is an economic powerhouse to be reckoned with, and official figures for 2023 and 2024 show that the state of California has the largest economy in the US, almost equal to that of India, the world's fifth largest economy.

Data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicate a GDP of 3.9 trillion dollars for the California economy, according to visualcapitalist.com. California's GDP grew by 6.1% in 2023, compared to the previous year, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Thus, California is behind only four national economies: the United States ($27.4 trillion), China ($17.7 trillion), Germany ($4.4 trillion) and Japan ($4.2 trillion of dollars). It should be mentioned that the state of California has only about 3% of the population of India.

Other revealing comparisons show how far the US economy really is from the rest of the world. For example, the economy of the state of Texas, of 2.6 trillion dollars, is as large as that of Italy (the eighth largest in the world), of New York, of 2.2 trillion dollars, as as large as Canada (ninth largest in the world), Florida, $1.6 trillion, as large as Spain (15th in the world) and Illinois, $1.1 trillion dollars, as high as Saudi Arabia (19th globally). Pennsylvania, with a GDP of $976 billion, has an economy similar to that of Switzerland, Ohio - $885 billion, to that of Poland, Georgia - $832 billion, also to that of Poland, and Washington , with 808 billion dollars, with that of Taiwan. Next is New Jersey, with 806 billion dollars, also an economy similar to that of Taiwan, with which North Carolina (788 billion dollars) and Massachusetts (736 billion dollars) are also similar.

Of course, these states are also the most populated in the US and, especially California and New York, have become global centers for technology and financial companies, notes the quoted source. But not all American states are economic powers that rival other world economies. Vermont, for example, is the US state with the lowest GDP and has an economy comparable to that of Nepal, a country ranked 101st worldwide. However, Nepal's population is more than 29 times that of Vermont, which is just over half a million people.

• By GDP/capita, California is the second largest economy in the world

By GDP per capita, California is the second-largest economy in the world, thanks to its diversified industry, which includes technology, entertainment and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared this year: "With an unmatched combination of innovation, higher education, workforce, diverse industries and natural resources, we will continue to do things just as well in the future."