On December 12, 2019, the Bureau of Economic Analysis published its first official county-level gross domestic product estimates, covering 2001 through 2018. For local officials, employers and workers, the new series offered a more detailed view of where production was expanding or contracting—not a measure of what households earned. [shared-9b4d54847335af4d45800e7082b2d43b5a11089448b046ad53a7acadad0d1f27]
In the 2018 estimates, real GDP rose in 2,375 counties, fell in 717 and was unchanged in 21. The figures cover a wide range of local economies: among medium counties, Canadian County, Oklahoma, grew fastest at 21 percent, with mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction leading the increase. Santa Clara County, California, led large counties at 10.2 percent, driven chiefly by information. [shared-9b4d54847335af4d45800e7082b2d43b5a11089448b046ad53a7acadad0d1f27]
BEA said the release added source data, improved methods and more industry detail over its December 2018 prototype. That helps compare local production, but it does not show who captured the gains, whether jobs or pay improved, or how costs were distributed. Real GDP adjusts for price changes; county output can also include goods sold elsewhere. The release is a December 2019 vintage of 2018 estimates, not a current snapshot. What complementary local evidence would show whether growth reached workers and smaller businesses? [shared-9b4d54847335af4d45800e7082b2d43b5a11089448b046ad53a7acadad0d1f27]