Pennsylvania's economic engine shrinks as people move out
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Pennsylvania and much of the Northeast are no longer the economic powerhouses of old.
What's happening: Six Southern states — the Carolinas, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee — now add more to the national GDP than the Northeast, Bloomberg reports.
- These areas are part of a "$100 billion wealth migration" as the U.S. economic center of gravity shifts, according to Bloomberg.
Why it matters: It's not just about the coasts and the bubbles anymore: Americans are spreading out, physically and economically, Axios' Mike Allen writes. It's evidence that more people are moving out of big cities as they seek better weather, cheaper living and more space.
By the numbers: A flood of transplants helped steer about $100 billion in new income to the Southeast in 2020 and 2021 alone, while the Northeast bled out about $60 billion, Bloomberg writes from IRS data.
- Pennsylvania's share of the national GDP fell to 3.63% last year from 4.02% in 2010, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Zoom in: Pennsylvania's population dropped by more than 40,000 between July 2021 and the same time in 2022, ranking fourth among all states in the U.S., per the Census Bureau.
- Top destinations for Pennsylvanians leaving the state included Florida, New Jersey and New York, per 2021 census estimates.
Between the lines: Population decline has also hurt the Keystone State politically.
- Pennsylvania lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives following the latest round of redistricting.
Meanwhile, people have continued to flee Philadelphia since the start of the pandemic.
- Philly's population dipped by more than 22,200 between July 2021 and July 2022, a drop that ranked third among big cities, per the Census Bureau.