Colorado had the nation’s fourth-highest percent change in real GDP — behind Arkansas, Oregon and Washington — in the first quarter of 2016, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Wednesday.
Colorado’s first quarter annualized growth rate of 3 percent outpaced the national average of 1.2 percent. It’s also up from both the state’s 2.8 percent growth in the previous quarter, and the 1.2 percent growth posted for the first quarter of 2015.
The state’s biggest gains were in real estate, construction and agriculture. Only New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington saw greater percentage changes in real estate.
Colorado led the Rocky Mountain region, which also includes Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. The region saw growth of 1.7 percent as a whole, but contracted most in the area of transportation and warehousing, with mining a close second.
The slump in oil and gas contributed to contractions in two states. North Dakota’s real GDP dropped 11.4 percent and Wyoming’s fell 4.9 percent.
The Plains region, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, was the only in the U.S. region where the collective economy contracted. All of its states, with the exception of Kansas, posted negative numbers.
