The economy of California mapped

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California’s economy has grown so large that it’s hard to grasp its true scale. With a gross state product of $3.2 trillion (as of 2019), the Golden State’s economic output surpasses most countries worldwide. In fact, if California were an independent nation, it would have the world’s fifth-largest economy, trailing only Germany, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom.

When it comes to individual prosperity, California’s success stands out globally. Even among wealthy Western European nations, California’s GDP per capita ($62,000 USD in 2015) topped most countries. According to the World Bank, only a handful of nations – Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Norway – surpassed California’s per-person wealth, with Ireland roughly matching it.

However, some smaller European regions do outperform California in per-capita terms:

These high-performing areas include:

• Inner London (UK)
• Hamburg (Germany)
• Several Swiss cantons (Zug, Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Zurich)
• Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Russia)

To understand this remarkable scale, California’s regions each match the GDP of entire nations. This visualization breaks down California into three distinct areas, each matching the GDP of a significant global economy:

The state’s economic might becomes even more fascinating when examining its counties:

Recent analysis from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows California’s economy continues to grow, with particularly strong performance in the technology, entertainment, and agriculture sectors. The state’s diverse economy, from Hollywood’s entertainment industry to Silicon Valley’s tech innovations and the Central Valley’s agricultural production, creates a unique economic ecosystem that few other regions can match.

To put this scale in perspective within the United States, it takes six major economic areas across the country to match California’s economic output:

The San Francisco Bay Area alone demonstrates California’s extraordinary economic power. Home to some of the world’s most valuable technology companies and over 100 Fortune 1000 headquarters, the region’s economic output surpasses many entire states: