The United States is the world's largest economy, with an economic volume of $25.46 trillion in 2022. Many states in the United States are scary, both in total and per capita.
For example, the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States, has a GDP per capita of more than $243,000.
What is this concept?
The country with the highest per capita GDP in the world today is Luxembourg, a small European country with a population of only 645,000, with a per capita GDP of $130,000, which is about half that of the District of Columbia in the United States.
The state with the highest economic aggregate in the United States is California, which has a GDP of $3.6 trillion in 2022, ranking first in the world ahead of the United Kingdom and behind Germany.
The United States has 50 states and a District of Columbia, and there is a huge economic gap between these different administrative units.
There is a super economy like California with a total GDP of $3.6 trillion, and there is also a small economy like Alaska, which has a total economic volume of just over $40 billion.
The same is true in terms of per capita, although the District of Columbia has a per capita GDP of more than $2 billion, there are many places where the per capita GDP is only 1/5 of that of the District of Columbia, and the development is relatively backward.
So the question is, what would the situation be like if the states with the lowest per capita in the United States were compared with the provinces on the mainland?
Statistics show that the state with the lowest per capita GDP in the United States in 2022 is Arkansas, with a per capita GDP of only $54,000.
(Location in Arkansas)
Arkansas is a landlocked state located in the south-central region of the continental United States, covering an area of 178,000 square kilometers, about the size of Guizhou Province on the mainland. It has a population of more than 3 million and a labor force of 1.4 million. It has a similar population to Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, and can be said to be a vast and sparsely populated place.
The capital and most populous city of Arkansas is Little Rock, located in central Arkansas, on the south bank of the Arkansas River. Founded on November 7, 1831, the city was named Little Rock by French explorers after the rock formations along the Arkansas River.
With a total population of only 200,000 and a metropolitan area of only about 750,000, the city ranks 81st among major cities in the United States and is a sister city to Changchun in Jilin Province.
Arkansas' nominal GDP totaled $165.2 billion in 2022, with manufacturing contributing $24.6 billion, or about 14.9% of the total.
Eight state-based listed companies have entered the Fortune 1000 in the United States, the largest of which is Wal-Mart. Its headquarters are located in Bentonville, a small city with a population of just over 50,000 people.
In 1950, Sam Walton purchased the Harrison Grocery Store in the city's square, which eventually grew into one of the world's largest retailers. In fiscal year 2023, the total sales revenue will be 611.3 billion, the net profit will be 11.29 billion US dollars, and the total number of employees will be 230,000.
In second place is Tyson Foods, the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken and beef. The headquarters are located in Springdale, the fourth most populous city in the state with a total population of 55,000 people.
Tyson Foods has revenue of $53.28 billion, net profit of $3.24 billion, and 142,000 employees in 2022.
In third place is Murphy America, one of the largest retail gas stations in the United States. The headquarters is located in El Dorado, a small city with a population of about 18,000 people.
Murphy USA operates 1,500 retail gas stations across the United States, more than 1,100 of which are located near Walmart stores.
In addition to these large, publicly traded companies that provide employment to the local economy, Arkansas Medical University is one of the largest public employers in the state, with a total annual impact of approximately $5 billion on the state.
Arkansas also has the 43rd highest oil capacity and the 40th largest natural gas capacity in the nation, providing thousands of jobs in the state.
But the largest sector in the state is agriculture, which is mainly engaged in animal husbandry and rice cultivation. At one point, the state's rice production was nearly half of the total U.S. production, creating more than 25,000 jobs a year.
Arkansas's economic structure is relatively backward compared to other developed states, although the state has produced several large enterprises, but although these companies are headquartered in Arkansas, if they want to grow, they must also distribute their main business to the United States and even overseas.
At the same time, the businesses in Arkansas are basically retail and agricultural production. The low level of technology and the fact that it is mostly labor-intensive also limits the development of the state's economy and the increase of personal income.
So, although the state has more than $50,000 per capita, it is mainly because of the advantage of the exchange rate.
As a result, many prices are intimidatingly high in the eyes of Chinese people, with an average of US$60 (more than 400 RMB) per month for Internet access, US$114 (about 800 RMB) per month for telephone, and US$45 (more than 300 RMB) per month for water
Statistics show that if a graduate who has just joined the workforce needs to rent a local apartment, plus utilities and food, it will cost an average of $1,780 a month, or $21,000 a year.
This is still a situation where one person feeds the whole family and does not go hungry.
If it is a family of 4 with children, the monthly cost will reach more than 4,200, which is 50,000 US dollars per year.
However, fortunately, agriculture and logistics are relatively developed in this small area, so the rent and prices are still slightly lower than the national average, which is equivalent to about 90% of the national average.
For example, the median home price sales in the United States in 2023 is $436,800, while the average price in Arkansas is only $179,000, less than half of the national level, and the third most beautiful state for home buyer freedom.
If the exchange rate advantage is taken into account, Arkansas's per capita GDP is estimated to be equivalent to $2-25,000 on the mainland, which is about the level of a well-developed average city in the southeast coastal region.
Reason: Take Ningbo, located in central Zhejiang, as an example.
In 2022, the total GDP will be 1.57 trillion people, with a population of 9.62 million, and a per capita GDP of 160,000 yuan, which is about 23,000 in US dollars.
In terms of income, it is almost half that of Arkansas.
The average price of houses in Ningbo is now 20,000 yuan, and a 70-square-meter house is about 1.4 million yuan, and the pressure to buy a house is greater than that of Arkansas. However, considering that other living costs, such as internet fees, telephone bills, food prices, travel expenses, etc., are much smaller, the two sides can be regarded as a tie.
As a result, Arkansas is almost equivalent to the level of an ordinary city with relatively good development along the southeast coast of the mainland.