Accounting for Growth in North Dakota

Performance and prospects

Preview:

Accounting for Growth in North Dakota shows the state’s economic growth has slowed down since 2014 after a period of rapid growth that began in 2009, but that this headline number masks strong fundamentals which position the state well for future growth. While per capita gross domestic product was 7 percent lower in North Dakota in 2024 than it was in 2014, the state has the highest employment ratio in the United States, the fastest growing share of workers with at least a bachelor’s degree, and the second youngest workforce. 

The report utilizes use a technique known as “growth accounting” to break down the observed rate of change in real per capita GDP into the shares derived from changes in human capital, physical capital, and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) to identify the sources of North Dakota’s economic strength. The state saw a decline in the growth rate of human capital due to a decline in the average hours each North Dakotan worked annually. But the share of North Dakota’s workforce with at least a bachelor’s degree grew faster than anywhere else in 2014-2023 after being the only state to see a decline in 2008-2014.

A full copy of the report can be viewed here.