Which states kept government growth behind private growth, and when

Each line is a state. Pick states to follow, switch between the two measures, and drag across the chart to see the full standings for any period. A positive score means the private sector grew faster than state and local government.

Government measured by

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Averaged over

Shaded years are national recessions

States to follow

Choose up to eight. You can also click a line or a row in the standings.

Standings

Score is the average annual growth of private-industry output minus the growth of state and local government, in percentage points a year. Value added is the BEA measure of government output, mostly payroll, and runs through 2025. Spending is Census direct general expenditure and runs through 2024. The combined score averages the two and so ends in 2024.

Rank 1 is the state where the private sector was furthest ahead of government in that period. A high rank reflects fast private growth as much as spending restraint. Census published no state totals for 2001 or 2003, so growth across those years is interpolated.

Sources: BEA regional accounts; Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. Rebuilt and extended from Millsap and Ishmael (2017). Data as of 5 October 2026.