The red shading in the interactive map below shows that most counties also experienced declines in GDP per capita from 2019 to 2020. The counties shaded black in the interactive map saw GDP per capita growth from 2019 to 2020, with the greatest increases in GDP per capita coming from Foard, Texas (117.7 percent); Campbell, South Dakota (66.2 percent); Clark, South Dakota (65.5 percent); Logan, Nebraska (52.7 percent); and, Edwards, Texas (51.1 percent). The counties that experienced the greatest declines in GDP per capita from 2019 to 2020 were Reeves, Texas (-51.1 percent); Ward, Texas (-51.8 percent); Karnes, Texas (-53.9 percent); King, Texas (-57.8 percent); and, Kent, Texas (-58.4 percent).
As seen from these short lists and in the map above, the counties that experienced either extreme increases or decreases in county GDP per capita from 2019 to 2020 are primarily located in the central states, with Texas having the greatest number of counties that experienced a dramatic annual swing in GDP per capita. Colorado and North Dakota also had several counties on both ends of the spectrum, experiencing either particularly high growth or more extreme declines in GDP per capita from 2019 to 2020.
Other regional trends are less defined, although New England and upper Midwest states generally had more counties with average declines, and the lower Midwest and southeast states generally saw more in-state variation between counties with declines and those with increases in GDP per capita.
Click here for the data used in this analysis.