EU’s largest economies vs top US states: How do they compare in GDP?
Top EU countries and US states appear one after the other in economic size rankings. However, US states surpass the top EU economies in GDP per capita, both in nominal terms and purchasing power.
In terms of GDP per capita, even the poorest US state outranked the top five European economies in 2024 — with the sole exception of Germany, where the gap narrowed to around €1,500.
But how do the overall economic heavyweights compare? E
uronews Business lines up the top five EU economies against the top five US states, measuring both total GDP and GDP per capita — in nominal terms and purchasing power standards (PPS).
According to Eurostat and Bureau of Economic Analysis, among the 10 economies, Germany has the highest GDP at €4.47 trillion as of 2025. California ranks second with €3.76 trillion.
France’s GDP is €2.98 trillion, followed by Texas (€2.57 trillion), Italy (€2.26 trillion) and New York (€2.18 trillion).
As the fourth-largest economy in the EU, Spain ranks seventh on the list at €1.69 trillion, followed by Florida (€1.62 trillion).
The Netherlands is the fifth-largest EU economy at €1.18 trillion, while Illinois (€1.06 trillion) has the smallest GDP among all 10 economies.
Interestingly, EU countries and US states appear one after the other in the ranking, rather than grouping them together.
US states lead in GDP per capita
In GDP per capita, the picture changes significantly, as the top five US economies surpass the European ones.
Based on 2024 data from International Monetary Fund and Bureau of Economic Analysis, New York leads with €108,444, followed by California (€96,887) and Illinois (€83,490).
Texas (€82,058) is just above the US average (€79,587), while Florida has the lowest GDP per capita at €69,706.
The Netherlands has the highest GDP per capita in the EU’s top economies at €62,537 while the EU average is €39,970.
This figure is €51,817 for Germany, €42,671 for France, €37,162 for Italy and €32,475 for Spain.
GDP per capita in PPS
In GDP per capita in international dollars, reflecting purchasing power, in 2025, according to International Monetary Fund, US states perform better than EU economies, except for Florida and the Netherlands.
New York still ranks highest at 108,500, followed by California (90,300). The US average is 89,599. Illinois stands at 89,300 and Texas at 87,600.
The Netherlands has the highest value among the EU’s top economies at 84,035, while Florida, at 75,000, has the lowest level among the US states.
Germany ranks second in the EU at 73,553. France (66,061) is just above the EU average (64,870).
Italy is slightly below the EU average, while Spain has the lowest GDP per capita in PPS among the EU’s five largest economies and among all 10 economies in the list.
US falls behind Europe on new poverty measure
On the other hand, severe poverty is higher in the US than in Europe’s top economies.
The time needed to earn $1 in international dollars is 63 minutes in the US. This is about twice the average in Germany, France and the UK, according to a researcher from University of Oxford.
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