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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT, Wednesday, September 20, 2017

BEA 17-48

Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2016

Professional and Business Services Led Growth Across Metropolitan Areas in 2016

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 267 out of 382 metropolitan areas in 2016 according to statistics on the geographic breakout of GDP released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real GDP by metropolitan area growth ranged from 8.1 percent in Lake Charles, LA and Bend-Redmond, OR to -13.3 percent in Odessa, TX (table 2).

Percent Change in Real GDP by Metropolitan Area

Real GDP for U.S. metropolitan areas grew 1.7 percent in 2016, led by growth in professional and business services; information services; and finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing.

Highlights

Professional and business services grew 2.7 percent across the nation's metropolitan areas in 2016 (table 3). This industry contributed to growth in 273 metropolitan areas, most notably in Oshkosk-Nennah, WI and Ocala, FL, which grew 2.6 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.
Information services grew 6.5 percent. This industry contributed to growth in 260 metropolitan areas, and was the leading contributor to growth in Provo-Orem, UT and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, which grew 6.1 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing grew 1.2 percent. This industry contributed to growth in 217 metropolitan areas, and made major contributions to growth in Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY and Saint Cloud, MN, which grew 4.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
Natural resources and mining declined 5.3 percent. This industry subtracted from growth in 169 metropolitan areas. Notable declines in this industry occurred in Odessa, TX (-13.3) and Casper, WY (-11.6).

Large Metropolitan Area Highlights

Of the large metropolitan areas, those with population greater than two million, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (5.4 percent) and Austin-Round Rock, TX (4.9 percent) were the fastest growing metropolitan areas. Real GDP growth in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA was led by growth in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, while growth in Austin-Round Rock, TX was led by professional and business services.
The only large metropolitan area that declined was Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (-3.0 percent). The real GDP decline in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX was led by a decline in natural resources and mining.

Small Metropolitan Area Highlights

Of the small metropolitan areas, those with population less than two million, Bend-Redmond, OR (8.1 percent) and Lake Charles, LA (8.1 percent) were the fastest growing metropolitan areas. Bend-Redmond, OR was led by growth in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, while Lake Charles, LA was led by growth in nondurable-goods manufacturing.
The largest declines in real GDP for small metropolitan areas were in Odessa, TX (-13.3 percent) and Casper, WY (-11.6 percent). Natural resources and mining subtracted from growth in each of these metropolitan areas.

Updates to Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area

In addition to the statistics presented in this news release, BEA also revised GDP by metropolitan area statistics for 2001–2015. Updates incorporated revised earnings data from BEA's Local Area Personal Income release published in November 2016.

More metropolitan area highlights can be found on the regional highlights pages that accompany this release.

Next release – September 2018 for: Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2017

Full Release & Tables (PDF)

Tables Only (Excel)

Regional Highlights and Maps

Uses of Statistics (PDF)

High-Resolution Map

Ralph Rodriguez

(301) 278-9631

Sharon Panek

(301) 278-9228

gdpbymetro@bea.gov

Media

Jeannine Aversa

(301) 278-9003

Jeannine.Aversa@bea.gov

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Definitions

Gross domestic product (GDP) by metropolitan area is the sub-state counterpart of the Nation's gross domestic product (GDP), the Bureau's featured and most comprehensive measure of U.S. economic activity. GDP by metropolitan area is derived as the sum of the GDP originating in all the industries in the metropolitan area.

Current-dollar statistics are valued in the prices of the period when the transactions occurred–that is, at "market value." Also referred to as "nominal GDP" or "current-price GDP."

Real values are inflation-adjusted statistics–that is, these exclude the effects of price changes.

Contributions to growth are an industry's contribution to the state's overall percent change in real GDP. The contributions are additive and can be summed to the state's overall percent change.

Industry definition

Natural resources and mining. This industry is comprised of agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting and mining.

Statistical conventions

Quantities and prices. Quantities, or "real" measures, are expressed as index numbers with a specified reference year equal to 100 (currently 2009). Quantity indexes are calculated using a Fisher-chained weighted formula that incorporates weights from two adjacent periods (quarters for quarterly data and annuals for annual data). "Real" dollar series are calculated by multiplying the published quantity index by the current dollar value in the reference year (2009) and then dividing by 100. Percent changes calculated from chained-dollar levels and quantity indexes are conceptually the same; any differences are due to rounding.

Chained-dollar values are not additive because the relative weights for a given period differ from those of the reference year.

Chained-dollar values of GDP by metropolitan area are derived by applying national chain-type price indexes to the current dollar values of GDP by metropolitan area for the 61 detailed NAICS-based industries. The chain-type index formula that is used in the national accounts is then used to calculate the values of total real GDP by metropolitan area and real GDP by metropolitan area at more aggregated industry levels. Real GDP by metropolitan area may reflect a substantial volume of output that is sold to other areas and countries. To the extent that a metropolitan area's output is produced and sold in national markets at relatively uniform prices (or sold locally at national prices), real GDP by metropolitan area captures the differences across metropolitan areas that reflect the relative differences in the mix of goods and services that the areas produce. However, real GDP by metropolitan area does not capture geographic differences in the prices of goods and services that are produced and sold locally.

Relation of GDP by metropolitan area real growth rates to national GDP. The statistics of GDP by metropolitan area released today are consistent with statistics of GDP by state released May 11, 2017, which were based on the July 2016 annual update of the national income and product accounts and the November 2016 annual update of the annual industry economic accounts. The growth rate of real GDP in the nation's metropolitan areas differs from the nation's real GDP growth rates released in July 2016. In part, the difference is caused by the inclusion of nonmetropolitan areas in the national statistics. In addition, growth rates differ because of differences in the timing of production cycles and availability of data in preparing national and regional statistics, which currently preclude BEA from incorporating the immediately preceding July annual revisions of the NIPAs into the advance statistics of GDP by metropolitan area.

Metropolitan (statistical) areas. The metropolitan (statistical) areas used by BEA for its entire series of GDP statistics are the July 2015 county-based definitions developed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for federal statistical purposes. Future releases will reflect the August 2017 definition. OMB's general concept of a metropolitan area is that of a geographic area consisting of a large population nucleus together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with the nucleus.

List of News Release Tables

Table 1. Current-Dollar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Metropolitan Area, 2013-2016

Table 2. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Metropolitan Area, 2013-2016

Table 3. Contributions to Percent Change in Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Metropolitan Area, 2016