Louisiana, which ranks 25th in the country by population size, was the top U.S. state for manufacturing revenue per capita in 2022, while Florida, the nation’s third most populous state, ranked in the bottom five for output. This is according to a Census Bureau data visualization that shows how smaller states often outperform large states like California, Texas and Florida, which typically rank at the top of business lists because of the size of their populations.
The analysis is part of a series of data the bureau is highlighting to mark Manufacturing Week, which recognizes a key driver of the U.S. economy. The ranking is based on the value of shipments in each state divided by its number of residents. None of the top five states for manufacturing output were among the most populous states, the data showed.
The top five states ranked by the value of shipments per capita were Louisiana at $59,217, Indiana at $49,000, Iowa at $47,000, Nebraska at $38,000 and Kentucky at $37,000. Louisiana’s strong performance was fueled by its petroleum and coal products manufacturing sector. Indiana, which ranks 17th in population, and Kentucky, which ranked 26th in population, were both driven by their transportation equipment manufacturing sectors. Iowa, which ranks 31st in population, and Nebraska, which ranks 37th, benefited from their food manufacturing output.
The bottom five states were Maryland, New Mexico, Florida, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, all with per capita manufacturing revenue of below $10,000.
Meanwhile, the nation’s most populous state, California, ranked 32nd in manufacturing output per capita at $16,783. Its manufacturing performance is driven by food and chemical manufacturing. Second-ranked Texas takes 17th place on the manufacturing revenue list at $26,832 per capita due to its large petroleum and coal products manufacturing subsector, said the report.
The most populous states turned in the highest total manufacturing revenues, with Texas ranking first with a total value of shipments of $808 billion, followed by California with $656 billion, Ohio with $347 billion, Indiana with $334 billion and Illinois with $320 billion.
The most populous states also had the most manufacturing employees. California led this category with nearly 1.2 million manufacturing sector employees, followed by Texas, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all with more than half a million manufacturing employees each.
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