GDP/CAPITA: U.S.STATES VS. THE WORLD'S COUNTRIES

One hears that if California were a country, it would have the 6th largest GDP in the World, but how does it stack up against other states per capita and the World's countries per capita? See figure below.*  As different figures and tables are considered, there appear to be inconsistencies which are due to different types of dollars being used and/or different years.

You see that on a per capita basis for 2016 in current dollars, the District of Columbia ($166,178) beats every state and, in fact, even the highest country, Luxemburg ($110,870).**  Note that the District Of Columbia beats out the #2 state, New York, by more than a factor of two ($75,360).

Perhaps it is not surprising that Washington, D.C., has the highest per capita GDP in the world because that is where the Federal government spends most of its money.  Just think of all the Social Security checks for just one example.  Remember GDP is a spending matric, not an income matric.  There are lots and lots of poor people in Washington, D.C.

 (Click on table to enlarge)

 (Click on table to enlarge)

Looking at a map of Europe on a GDP/Capita basis is instructive.**

 (Click on figure to enlarge)

Note that all the lowest GDP/Capita numbers are toward the south and south-east with few exceptions (Romania and Bulgaria).  All the countries with the highest per capita GDP are to the north-east with Ireland ($75,538) as #2 following Luxemburg ($106,373).  Dollars, in this case, are international dollars.

Why does Luxemburg have such a high per capita GDP?  Surprisingly it is home to the largest steel making company in the world (ArcelorMittal).  The largest part of the Luxemburg economy, however, is banking with 155 banks having offices there.***
In addition to financial services, Luxembourg is also one of the most important technology and ecommerce hubs in Europe. Because of the government's significant long-term support of the technology sector, Luxembourg has an enormous, ultra-high-speed communications infrastructure, as well as multiple data centers.***

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP_per_capita
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_in_Europe_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
*** http://www.harley.com/money-and-economics/understanding-gdp/12-luxembourg-the-country-with-the-highest-gdp-per-capita.html