In a recent post, I suggested that if anyone is not happy with their current personal finance situation they should consider moving to a new city, state or country. I decided to dig a little deeper into this topic and came up with some interesting facts.
GPD by State
The first thing I did was find the states with the largest gross domestic product (GDP). These are the states with the highest economic output. An important thing to note here is that I focused on where 80% of the GDP is created and it’s often only in 20% of the states.
Population by State
I looked at where 80% of the 336 million people live in the United States. Just a few states have the bulk of the American population: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
S&P 500 Companies (top 80 percent)
Next, I took a look at what states 80% of the S&P 500 companies are located. California is king to corporate headquarters for S&P 500 companies followed by New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
Do you see the trend yet? Large population = large GDP = large economic prosperity and growth. In contrast, some states that keep losing population such as Alaska, are hampering their economic growth.
An article from Anchorage Daily News shows the plight of the Alaskan economic growth. Alaska has had its working age population decline from 481k in 2012 to 449k in 2023. Related to this is a recent article in Scientific Americana that shows that as many as 2100 towns could become abandoned in the U.S. by the year 2100.
You & Your Family’s Future
The issue ultimately won’t be just for you. It will include your family members and descendants if you get them settled in an area that is doomed to economic failure over time, you will be sentencing them to a life of misery for generations. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at this article.
