The state GDP figures for Q3 were heavily influenced by gains in refining and other industries using petroleum feedstocks. Texas was the fastest-growing state, with its real output up at 4 percent annual rate, with its growth led by strong gains in nondurable manufacturing and mining. Other oil and gas producing states, such as Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and New Mexico also saw strong gains in the mining sector, though energy producers more dependent on fracking and coal (North Dakota, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania) saw less impetus from this factor.

Washington and Utah were the only other states with annualized growth rates above 3 percent. The Northeast was the weakest area: Delaware's real output was unchanged, and New York and West Virginia both saw a meager .5 percent rate of real growth. New York was held back by a marked contraction in the state's financial output (a sketchily measured sector) while West Virginia saw construction output tumble. New Jersey bucked the tide in the Northeast, with the Garden State growing at a 2.3 percent rate—slightly above the national 2.1 percent pace. It seems likely that the national turnaround in refining benefitted New Jersey.

Over the last four quarters Texas was, by a wide margin, the state with the highest real GDP growth—a 4.5 percent gain, well above Utah's 3.7 percent. Western states were again the growth leaders, with South Carolina's 2.8 percent rise the largest in the East, but ranking only 10th in the nation. Growth has generally been quite subdued in the Northeast and Midwest, and real output in both Delaware and West Virginia is reported to have fallen over the last year.