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America’s Economic Engines: The Biggest Industry in Every State

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July 28, 2025

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Jenna Ross

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The following content is sponsored by Terzo

The Biggest Industry in Every State, Mapped

Key Takeaways

  • Real estate is the biggest industry in 26 states, including most coastal states.
  • Manufacturing accounts for the largest share of GDP in 13 states, concentrated in the Midwest and the South.
  • Finance and insurance plays the largest economic role in just four states.

Ever wondered what fuels each state’s economy? In most cases, the biggest industry is either real estate or manufacturing.

This Markets in a Minute graphic, in partnership with Terzo, highlights the industry contributing the most to GDP in every state.

The Biggest Industry Ranking

Real estate powers the economy in over half of states. This is largely because the Bureau of Economic Analysis treats homeowners as landlords renting to themselves, and includes the rental value in GDP. If economists did not include this value, a jump in the homeownership rate would cause GDP to drop. 

On top of this, the real estate industry includes rent paid by renters, property taxes, construction, remodeling, and brokers’ fees.

State/District Biggest Industry
Alabama Manufacturing
Alaska Transportation & Warehousing
Arizona Real Estate
Arkansas Manufacturing
California Real Estate
Colorado Real Estate
Connecticut Real Estate
Delaware Finance & Insurance
District of Columbia Government
Florida Real Estate
Georgia Real Estate
Hawaii Real Estate
Idaho Real Estate
Illinois Real Estate
Indiana Manufacturing
Iowa Manufacturing
Kansas Manufacturing
Kentucky Manufacturing
Louisiana Manufacturing
Maine Real Estate
Maryland Real Estate
Massachusetts Professional & Technical Services
Michigan Manufacturing
Minnesota Real Estate
Mississippi Manufacturing
Missouri Real Estate
Montana Real Estate
Nebraska Finance & Insurance
Nevada Real Estate
New Hampshire Real Estate
New Jersey Real Estate
New Mexico Real Estate
New York Finance & Insurance
North Carolina Manufacturing
North Dakota Mining, Oil & Gas
Ohio Manufacturing
Oklahoma Government
Oregon Real Estate
Pennsylvania Real Estate
Rhode Island Real Estate
South Carolina Real Estate
South Dakota Finance & Insurance
Tennessee Manufacturing
Texas Real Estate
Utah Real Estate
Vermont Real Estate
Virginia Real Estate
Washington Information
West Virginia Mining, Oil & Gas
Wisconsin Manufacturing
Wyoming Mining, Oil & Gas

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Data for the 2024 calendar year. Some industry names have been shortened including real estate and rental and leasing; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; federal civilian and state and local government; and professional, scientific, and technical services.

In second place, manufacturing is the biggest industry in 13 states. Its prominence is heavily concentrated in the Midwest and the South thanks to the long history of the sector in some states, large plots of available land, and government support.

Rare Economic Leaders

Outside of real estate and manufacturing, some industries are the top GDP driver in a much smaller number of states.

For instance, finance and insurance is the biggest industry in New York, Delaware, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Over half of publicly-traded U.S. companies incorporate in Delaware thanks to balanced and flexible corporate laws, a business-friendly environment, and a respected legal community. In South Dakota, financial services are drawn to the state’s business-friendly taxes and trust laws that can shield families from inheritance taxes indefinitely. 

Mining and oil and gas creates the biggest economic output in three states. North Dakota is the third-largest crude oil producer in the country, while Wyoming and West Virginia are America’s top two coal producers.

The government is the biggest GDP driver in D.C. and Oklahoma. Lastly, professional and technical services (Massachusetts), information (Washington), and transportation and warehousing (Alaska) were the top industry in one state each.

Stay in tune with your company’s spending with Terzo’s AI-powered financial platform.

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