Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most comprehensive measure of the output (product) from all industries within a state. Like its widely followed national-level GDP counterpart, GSP represents a market valuation of the goods and services—both private and public—produced within a state economy.

Real State GDP is an inflation-adjusted measure based on the national prices of the goods and services produced within a state. BEA applies implicit GDP price deflators for individual industries nationally to their corresponding state current dollar industry GDP counterpart estimates. Implicitly, this assumes state industry sales are at national prices.

Think of Real GDP as calibrating an inflation adjusted measure “producing power” of a state by the place-of-work of those workers employed within that state although they may reside elsewhere. Real State Personal Income, by contrast, is representative the “purchasing power” of those that reside within a state although they may work elsewhere.

For a more detailed and technical explanation of the current and constant dollar estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State compiled by the Regional Product Branch of Bureau of Economic Analysis please refer to the Gross Domestic Product by State: Estimation Methodology - 2017 on this topic.