In the first quarter of 2021, the Kansas economy grew at the annual rate of 7.3 percent. Gross Domestic Product grew in all states, with Kansas performing better than most states.
In the first quarter of 2021, the Kansas economy grew at the annual rate of 7.3 percent in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars, according to statistics released this week by Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the United States Department of Commerce. This comes after growth of 34.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020 and growth of 4.0 percent in the forth quarter, in annualized terms.
GDP in Kansas for the quarter was at the annual rate of $184,184 million in current dollars. The first quarter consists of January, February, and March.
Click charts and tables for larger versions.
This the fifth quarter of data to be affected by the response to the pandemic, as BEA noted in the release accompanying the data:
The increases in first quarter GDP by state reflected the continued economic recovery, reopening of establishments, and continued government response related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first quarter, government assistance payments, such as direct economic impact payments, expanded unemployment benefits, and Paycheck Protection Program loans, were distributed to households and businesses through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the GDP by state estimates for the first quarter of 2021, because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified.
The Kansas rate of 7.3 percent ranked eleventh among the states. The national rate was 6.4 percent, while the rate for the Plains states was 6.6 percent. (For this data, BEA defines Plains states as Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.)
Over the last eight quarters, Kansas has averaged quarterly growth rates of 2.1 percent in annual terms. For the nation, the rate was 1.8 percent. For the Plains states, it was 2.2 percent.
In the table of industries, we see that Kansas industries that grew significantly are:
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
- Accomodation and food services
- Durable goods manufacturing
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Administrative services
For the complete release at BEA, click on Gross Domestic Product by State, 1st Quarter 2021.
I have developed an interactive visualization of this data. To access, click on Visualization: Quarterly Real Gross Domestic Product by state and industry.