15 Facts About California’s Economy (#6 Will Blow Your Mind)

With the largest population and the third-largest landmass in the U.S., California boasts an economy that dwarfs others.

Clocking in at over $3.5 trillion in 2022, the state's GDP is the engine powering the nation's economic landscape.

Dive deeper with us to uncover 15 fascinating facts about California's economy and how its residents build wealth.

California’s GDP of $3.5 trillion means it has the country’s largest economy — but perhaps more notably, it’s the biggest economy by a huge margin. 

The state with the second-biggest economy, Texas, had a GDP of just over $2.3 trillion in 2022, which puts its economic contribution more than $1 trillion behind California’s.

California’s economy isn’t quite big enough to rival economic powerhouses like Germany. Still, it’s massive enough that if California were its own nation rather than one of the 50 states, it would have the fifth-largest GDP in the world.

In 2022, Southern California contributed nearly $1.6 trillion to the state’s total GDP. No single state makes as much as Southern California does — and only New York and Texas generate more revenue than just this one region of California.

California’s massive agricultural industry is responsible for nearly a third of the vegetables consumed across the country and an astonishing three-quarters of its fruits and nuts.

California may be known for its massive Bay Area tech companies, but in 2022, there were 4.2 million small businesses in California, which means they comprised almost 99% of the state’s businesses.

It’s hard to say for sure how much revenue Disneyland generates every day, but passionate Disney fans who crunched the numbers estimate that the park might rake in $13.1 million each day in ticket sales

That number doesn’t account for food, drink, hotels, transportation, or Disney merch.

Film and TV work is a crucial segment of California’s economy. It’s responsible for around 700,000 jobs and a total of $70 billion in wages.

The months-long SAG-AFTRA strike that took place in mid-2023 impacted more than just the summer blockbuster lineup. 

By August 2023, the strike had cost the California economy at least $3 billion.

From 1995 to 2019, California’s small-business employment increased by a massive 25%, above the national average.

According to the local paper, "The Orange County Register," the 15 biggest pro teams in California are worth a combined $43 billion, which is more than the combined worth of the biggest pro sports teams in any other state.

Despite its massive GDP, more Californians are unemployed than the national average. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate was 3.7% as of January 2024. 

However, in December 2023, California’s unemployment rate was 5.1%, a 0.2% increase compared to November 2023.

Even though the state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average, California businesses added 23,400 non-farm jobs in December. Nationwide, 216,000 jobs were added that month, and California’s new jobs accounted for 10.8% of that growth.

Six of California’s biggest industries gained hundreds of thousands of new jobs in 2023, including private education and health services (150K new jobs), government (78K new jobs), and construction (25K new jobs).

In contrast, some long-term staples of the California economy lost several thousands of jobs over the last year, including information technology (down 36K jobs), mining (down 200 jobs), and professional services (down 36K jobs).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, San Mateo County — where you’ll find tech hubs like Menlo Park and tourist towns like Half Moon Bay — has a below-average unemployment rate of just 3.2%.

California’s juggernaut economy is starting the year strong, which is good news — not just for the millions of Californians trying to get ahead financially but for everyone else in the U.S. as well.