New Jersey
Economy
We provide for our material well-being mainly through markets. Private markets provide not only for basic necessities like food, housing, and medicine, but others, from entertainment to transportation, that shape the quality and character of life.
Summary of Results.
New Jersey's progress in this area has been positive. In New Jersey, both economic output and productivity are improving.
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Economic OutputSpecific Measure
Real gross domestic product (GDP), or the level of production within a state's boundaries, expressed in 2023 US dollars
(Source: Authors' analysis of Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics data). Recessions are highlighted in gray.State RankState vs. US trend10Why did we include this measure?
GDP measures the value of output of final goods and services—a state's economic production. Because GDP depends not just on the quantity of output but also on prices, the measure reflects the value of that output to consumers in their market exchanges. As such, it is an important measure of income and material well-being.
How does New Jersey compare to the rest of the country?
New Jersey's trend in economic output has been improving less than the US. Compared to other states, New Jersey has also decreased in state ranking by two or more places. Therefore, we categorize New Jersey's comparison to the US as negative. In the most recent year, New Jersey ranked 10 (out of 51). In the same year, California ranked first, and Vermont ranked last. We note that the state and US scales in the above graph are quite different, which makes them difficult to compare and explains why we created two scales. When determining the comparison to US trends, we focused on the percentage change.
Additional Information.
GDP is driven by three immediate factors: the size of the labor force, average hours per worker, and worker productivity. The national rise in GDP in recent years has been driven by productivity growth as well as some increase in population size (driven mainly by immigration).New Jersey State Trend Improving
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ProductivitySpecific Measure
Labor productivity of the private nonfarm sector, indexed to 2017
(Source: Authors' analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data). Recessions are highlighted in gray.State RankState vs. US trend25Why did we include this measure?
It is not just how much we produce that matters but how much time we need to put into it. Productivity growth is one of the main drivers of overall economic growth and signals increases in human and physical capital and innovations in products, technology, management, and work processes. This allows us to increase our material prosperity while also having leisure time to rest, exercise, vacation, and spend time with our families and friends and in civic and community activities.
How does New Jersey compare to the rest of the country?
New Jersey's trend in productivity has been improving less than the US. Compared to other states, New Jersey has also decreased in state ranking by two or more places. Therefore, we categorize New Jersey's comparison to the US as negative. In the most recent year, New Jersey ranked 25 (out of 51). In the same year, Washington ranked first, and South Dakota ranked last.
Additional Information.
Productivity improves because of a combination of factors. Firms can develop and invest in new production technologies and improve workplace organization, while workers may enter the workforce with greater general skills (human capital) or specific skills better matched to firm needs. Our national GDP and productivity are both strong. This appears to be due to a combination of our large population size, historical investments in education and business capital, culture of hard work, innovation, entrepreneurialism, relatively stable democratic government, free market policies, national security, and other advantages.New Jersey State Trend Improving
How to Read This Report:
We report each measure three different ways: State Rank, State Trend, State vs. US Trend. Each result is color coded as either red (negative/worsening), yellow (neutral/stable), or green (positive/improving), as indicated below. If the simple trends were erratic, had too few data points, or had no data points, we do not color code and label the trend as “mixed,” "unclear," or "NA," respectively.
State Rank
(Where are we now?)
State Trend
(Where are we going?)
State vs. US Trend
(How do we compare?)
Top third of states
(i.e., ranks 1-17)
Improving
Trendline is improving by >5% and most points are improving relative to the first data point.
Improving
Trendline is improving relative to the national trend and rank is improving by 2+ rank spots.
Middle third of states
(i.e., ranks 18-34)
Neutral/Stable
Doesn't fall into improving, worsening, mixed, unclear, or NA categories.
Neutral/Stable
Trendline is improving/worsening the same amount as the national trend or rank is changing by <2 spots.
Bottom third of states
(i.e., ranks 35-51)
Worsening
Trendline is worsening by >5% and most points are worsening relative to the first data point.
Worsening
Trendline is worsening relative to national trend and rank is declining by 2+ rank spots
Mixed
Large shares of points are improving and worsening by >5% in different parts of the trend.
Mixed
This label only applies when a measure has more than 1 trendline. One trendline is improving and another is worsening.
Unclear
Not enough data to determine a trend.
Unclear
Not enough data to determine a comparison.
Not Applicable
No data.
Not Applicable
No data.
Not Applicable
No data.
For more information on our definitions and methods, please see the Data Notes section.
