California Economy: GDP, Income and Employment

California produced $4,297.4 billion in current-dollar GDP in 2025, 13.93% of the published U.S. total. Its real output changed 3.54% from 2024.

Gross domestic product

$4,297.4 billion

2025 · Current dollars · BEA SAGDP1 line 3
$4,297,449.8 million. Published September 30, 2026.

Real GDP growth

3.54%

2025 vs. 2024 · Annual change
Calculated from BEA SAGDP1 line 1, chained 2017 dollars.

Unemployment rate

5.1%

August 2026 · Seasonally adjusted · Preliminary
BLS LAUS · Published September 18, 2026.

Payroll job growth

0.77%

August 2026 vs. August 2025 · Seasonally adjusted
BLS state CES · 18,177.2 thousand nonfarm jobs.

Personal income per capita

$90,957

2025 · Dollars per resident · BEA SAINC1 line 3
Before personal current taxes. Published September 30, 2026.

Regional price level

110.720

2024 · U.S. = 100 · BEA all-items RPP
Published February 19, 2026. This measures price levels, not inflation.

California compared with the United States

Annual real GDP growth was 1.19 percentage points above the U.S. annual growth rate in 2025. Personal income per resident was $13,929 above the U.S. value of $77,028 in the same year. These comparisons use national observations from the same regional producer files.

The August unemployment rate was 1.0 percentage point above the national 4.1% reading. That numerical difference is not a statistical-significance claim. The 2024 price parity was 10.7% above the national benchmark. Household circumstances and local housing markets can differ from these state averages.

Where California ranks among states

GDP and income history

Current-dollar output rose 56.8% between 2017 and 2025 in this acquired history. That figure includes price change and is separate from real output growth. The chart uses the published price-adjusted total; chained-dollar industry components are not added together.

California real GDP, 2017–2025 — Millions of chained 2017 dollars 2.7M3.1M3.5M 20172025 California real GDP, 2017–2025 — Millions of chained 2017 dollars 2.7M3.1M3.5M 20172025
California annual accounts and spatial prices · acquired September 30, 2026
YearNominal GDP, $ millionsReal GDP, chained 2017 $ millionsIncome per resident, $All-items price parity
20254,297,449.83,429,343.290,957Not published
20244,054,078.03,312,182.286,761110.720
20233,820,394.53,203,898.481,318112.195
20223,623,524.53,161,153.477,221112.591
20213,435,095.53,167,935.677,140111.918
20203,076,253.62,933,001.770,098111.944
20193,068,625.82,969,065.664,230111.134
20182,899,530.92,850,608.860,994111.882
20172,740,550.32,740,550.358,225110.998

Missing 2025 price parities mean that year was not published in the acquired file. They are not treated as zero or estimated from another year.

Employment and unemployment history

Unemployment describes eligible resident jobseekers as a share of the civilian labor force. Payroll employment describes jobs at establishments in California. A commuter can live in another state; a person with multiple covered jobs can contribute multiple payroll jobs. Neither series substitutes for the other.

California unemployment rate, 2017–2026 — Percent of civilian labor force; seasonally adjusted 2.310.017.6 2017-012026-08 California unemployment rate, 2017–2026 — Percent of civilian labor force; seasonally adjusted 2.310.017.6 2017-012026-08

Scroll within the monthly table to read earlier observations; on narrow screens, scroll sideways for every column.

Monthly unemployment and payroll table
BLS state series · seasonally adjusted · payroll levels in thousands of jobs
MonthUnemployment, %Payroll jobs, thousandsUnemployment status
August 20265.118,177.2Preliminary
July 20265.118,137.8Published
June 20265.218,153.5Published
May 20265.318,147.4Published
April 20265.318,163.0Published
March 20265.318,163.0Published
February 20265.418,125.5Published
January 20265.418,144.3Published
December 20255.518,062.5Published
November 20255.518,059.0Published
October 2025Not published18,024.0Not published
September 20255.518,022.3Published
August 20255.518,038.7Published
July 20255.518,020.3Published
June 20255.518,037.6Published
May 20255.518,063.2Published
April 20255.418,058.2Published
March 20255.418,009.5Published
February 20255.418,003.9Published
January 20255.418,024.8Published
December 20245.418,005.9Published
November 20245.418,049.3Published
October 20245.418,052.1Published
September 20245.417,988.8Published
August 20245.417,964.9Published
July 20245.417,948.8Published
June 20245.317,928.7Published
May 20245.217,933.6Published
April 20245.217,936.3Published
March 20245.217,968.5Published
February 20245.117,955.8Published
January 20245.118,027.0Published
December 20235.117,909.1Published
November 20235.017,858.6Published
October 20235.017,844.9Published
September 20234.917,880.5Published
August 20234.817,835.9Published
July 20234.717,804.8Published
June 20234.617,848.4Published
May 20234.617,820.0Published
April 20234.517,763.8Published
March 20234.517,774.8Published
February 20234.517,782.6Published
January 20234.417,755.9Published
December 20224.417,803.6Published
November 20224.317,794.6Published
October 20224.117,779.4Published
September 20224.017,791.9Published
August 20223.817,775.2Published
July 20223.917,738.0Published
June 20224.017,688.3Published
May 20224.117,641.4Published
April 20224.317,616.9Published
March 20224.517,558.4Published
February 20224.817,494.0Published
January 20225.217,352.9Published
December 20215.417,347.1Published
November 20215.717,277.9Published
October 20216.117,212.1Published
September 20216.516,967.5Published
August 20217.016,971.9Published
July 20217.416,878.8Published
June 20217.916,680.2Published
May 20218.016,609.9Published
April 20218.416,498.8Published
March 20218.516,343.3Published
February 20218.616,209.9Published
January 20218.716,006.0Published
December 20209.016,104.1Published
November 20209.016,185.4Published
October 20209.316,117.7Published
September 20209.915,914.6Published
August 202011.815,761.7Published
July 202013.115,669.4Published
June 202013.815,627.3Published
May 202015.815,109.0Published
April 202016.114,921.5Published
March 20205.517,483.6Published
February 20204.417,660.9Published
January 20204.317,638.1Published
December 20194.117,576.0Published
November 20194.117,559.8Published
October 20194.017,498.9Published
September 20194.017,478.0Published
August 20194.017,465.1Published
July 20194.017,432.1Published
June 20194.017,423.1Published
May 20194.017,385.1Published
April 20194.117,360.0Published
March 20194.217,355.4Published
February 20194.317,332.2Published
January 20194.317,319.7Published
December 20184.317,321.4Published
November 20184.317,274.4Published
October 20184.317,258.8Published
September 20184.217,230.0Published
August 20184.217,200.5Published
July 20184.217,160.0Published
June 20184.217,170.8Published
May 20184.217,125.6Published
April 20184.217,102.7Published
March 20184.317,091.6Published
February 20184.317,083.0Published
January 20184.417,042.0Published
December 20174.517,008.7Published
November 20174.516,958.8Published
October 20174.616,932.0Published
September 20174.716,912.7Published
August 20174.816,862.0Published
July 20174.816,840.6Published
June 20174.816,841.7Published
May 20174.916,798.9Published
April 20175.016,741.6Published
March 20175.016,715.8Published
February 20175.116,672.6Published
January 20175.316,634.9Published

Largest published industries in California

The table orders non-overlapping broad sectors by their 2025 current-dollar GDP in BEA SAGDP2. These shares describe production structure; they do not establish the sectors responsible for the most recent real growth. Suppressed or unavailable cells are omitted rather than reconstructed.

California largest acquired broad industries · 2025 · current dollars
IndustryProducer classificationOutput, $ millionsShare of state GDP
Real estate and rental and leasing53598,938.513.94%
Information51508,404.711.83%
Government and government enterprises92455,981.810.61%
Professional, scientific, and technical services54420,946.39.80%
Manufacturing31-33390,527.99.09%

Real estate and rental and leasing is the largest of the acquired broad sectors, at 13.9% of total nominal output. The next sectors are Information and Government and government enterprises. The original industry classification and table line remain in the JSON download; no occupational wage or employment estimate is inferred from an output share.

Compare economies of a similar nominal size

The three states nearest California in 2025 nominal GDP are Texas, New York, Florida. These peers are selected by the absolute difference in total GDP, not by neighboring borders, household income, industry similarity or policy. Use the separate rankings to compare other dimensions.

Sources, downloads and geographic coverage

BEA state accounts: SAGDP1, SAINC1 and SARPP. BLS unemployment code: LASST060000000000003; payroll code: SMS06000000000000001. Geography: California, state FIPS 06; BEA area code 06000. Industry output uses the 2017 NAICS classification in SAGDP2. Original codes are text and must retain leading zeroes.

Source-file dates: GDP/income September 30, 2026; prices February 19, 2026; state labor September 18, 2026. Snapshot: regional-2026-09-30-reviewed. Estimates are revisable. This archive preserves the acquired figures and does not reproduce earlier published vintages. County or metro values are not inferred from this state profile.

Download state histories CSV · Dictionary and source checksums · BEA state GDP · BLS local unemployment · Compare regional purchasing power.

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