New York had the fastest-growing economy of any state in the country during the second quarter of 2026. The Empire State posted a 4 percent annual growth rate, ahead of every other state in the union for the quarter.
Newsweek reported that New York’s economy grew 4 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter, more than any other state, citing Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates. The figures come from BEA’s quarterly release of state-level gross domestic product growth, according to the same report.
How New York Compared to the Rest of the Country
New York’s growth put real distance between itself and the next-closest states. South Carolina and Delaware tied for second place, each posting 3.5 percent growth for the quarter, per Newsweek’s reporting on the BEA figures. Nationally, real GDP rose in 44 states and Washington, D.C., during the second quarter, the outlet reported.
Not every state shared in the gains. West Virginia recorded the steepest decline in the country, with its real GDP sinking by 2.3 percent, the report notes. Separately, the Bureau of Economic Analysis described the regional spread in its own release, noting that real GDP increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia, with annualized changes ranging from 4.0 percent in New York to negative 2.3 percent in West Virginia.
National Backdrop for New York's Standout Quarter
New York’s performance came against a national economy that grew more slowly overall. U.S. GDP rose 2.2 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter, an upward revision from an earlier estimate of 1.5 percent, according to the same Newsweek report drawing on BEA data. That leaves New York’s 4 percent rate nearly double the national pace for the quarter.
The underlying BEA estimate is part of the agency’s routine quarterly state GDP reporting, which tracks how each state’s output shifts from one quarter to the next.
