IBISWorld Platform
Answer any industry question in minutes with our entire database at your fingertips.
US State economic profile
Georgia - Economic Profile
Statistics, economic information and rankings for the Peach State
In 2026, the state of Georgia has a population of 11,421,152, having grown an annualized 1.1% over the five years to 2026, which ranks it 11th out of all 50 US states by growth rate. Georgia's gross state product (GSP) in 2026 reached $717.4b, with growth of 2.2% over the 5 years to 2026. Businesses in Georgia employed a total of 5,436,319 people in 2026, with average annual employment growth over the past five years of 1.9%. The top three sectors by total employment are Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Manufacturing, while the unemployment rate across the state in 2026 was 4.2%.
Access this data your way
The Georgia economic profile is available in multiple formats to fit seamlessly into your workflow.
State economic profile
Georgia Economic Overview
$717.4b
Gross state product
11,421,152
Population
1,145,387
Businesses
What is Georgia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
In 2026, Georgia's GDP reached $717.4b, representing an increase of 2.2% from 2025. Georgia's GDP has grown at an annualized rate of 1.8% over the five years to 2026. Moreover, Georgia's trailing five-year GDP growth ranks it 21st out of all 50 US states.
State GDP, or Gross State Product, is a measurement of a state's output, or the sum of value added from all industries in the state. It is a common indicator used to track the health of a state's economy.
You can track trends in Georgia's GDP, and compare them to the national average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Georgia Industry Trends
Learn about current trends affecting the most significant industries for Georgia's state economy, down to the county level. IBISWorld offers state industry research reports on over 30,000 industries across all 50 states in the US, including 639 industries in Georgia.
What are Georgia's Largest Industries by Revenue?
The largest industries by revenue in Georgia are Automobile Wholesaling, Drug, Cosmetic & Toiletry Wholesaling and Property, Casualty and Direct Insurance, which generated $70.2b, $50.3b and $43.0b in 2026.
| Industry | 2026 revenue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Automobile Wholesaling | $70.2b |
| 2. | Drug, Cosmetic & Toiletry Wholesaling | $50.3b |
| 3. | Property, Casualty and Direct Insurance | $43.0b |
| 4. | New Car Dealers | $41.8b |
| 5. | Hospitals | $41.5b |
| 6. | Commercial Banking | $35.9b |
| 7. | Supermarkets & Grocery Stores | $30.5b |
| 8. | Public Schools | $29.3b |
| 9. | IT Consulting | $28.9b |
| 10. | Health & Medical Insurance | $28.0b |
State economic profile
Top Companies in Georgia
Learn about current trends affecting the top companies in Georgia. IBISWorld offers benchmarking data and tools on over 5,000 companies in the US.
Top 10 Companies Headquartered in Georgia by Employment
The largest companies by employment in Georgia are Georgia State Government, Walmart and Delta Air Lines, which employed 71,000, 64,559 and 42,300 people in 2026.
| Company | 2026 employment | Share of employment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Georgia State Government | 71,000 | 1.3% |
| 2. | Walmart | 64,559 | 1.2% |
| 3. | Delta Air Lines | 42,300 | 0.8% |
| 4. | Emory University | 37,716 | 0.7% |
| 5. | Amazon.Com | 30,000 | 0.6% |
| 6. | Kroger | 25,669 | 0.5% |
| 7. | Home Depot, inc. | 19,734 | 0.4% |
| 8. | United States Postal Service | 19,225 | 0.4% |
| 9. | Department Of Defense | 15,259 | 0.3% |
| 10. | Gwinnett County School System | 12,500 | 0.2% |
State economic profile
Georgia Sector Statistics
In Georgia, certain sectors drive a higher share of state GDP and employ more workers than others. However, simply looking at raw numbers doesn't always tell the whole story. Factoring in the current year growth percentage, in addition to the annualized growth percentage over the past five years, will give you a deeper understanding of the economic situation.
What is Georgia's GDP by Sector?
The Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services and Manufacturing sectors contributed the most to Georgia's GDP in 2026, representing a combined 37.1% of state GDP.
GDP trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are contributing the most value-add to the state economy, in addition to how the state economy is evolving over time.
| Sector | GDP | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 107,220,428,949 | 3.5% | 4.1% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 72,035,988,109 | 7.6% | 8.1% |
| Manufacturing | 70,589,903,643 | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| Information | 59,950,075,066 | 2.0% | 1.1% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 56,945,955,029 | 6.2% | 6.5% |
| Retail Trade | 45,380,621,532 | 4.9% | 4.3% |
| Finance & Insurance | 44,671,057,690 | -1.5% | -2.3% |
| Wholesale Trade | 41,335,866,424 | -1.2% | -1.3% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 32,554,919,669 | 5.6% | 6.3% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 28,532,892,743 | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Construction | 28,091,719,034 | -0.9% | -1.6% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 22,472,353,933 | 6.1% | 7.5% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 21,758,930,836 | 5.4% | 5.7% |
| Utilities | 12,371,785,291 | 2.7% | 2.8% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 10,384,175,121 | -0.8% | 0.2% |
| Educational Services | 8,197,774,852 | 3.9% | 4.6% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 5,805,869,058 | 9.3% | 10.6% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 3,415,855,817 | -1.8% | -0.2% |
| Mining | 1,225,323,936 | -3.9% | -5.9% |
What is Georgia's Employment by Sector?
The Retail Trade, Healthcare & Social Assistance and Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services sectors contributed the most to employment in Georgia in 2026, representing a combined 33.4% of state employment.
Employment trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are growing or contracting most rapidly relative to the state economy as a whole.
| Sector | Employment | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 664,612 | 1.6% | 2.4% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 651,241 | 2.2% | 2.9% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 497,876 | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 491,425 | 2.3% | 2.8% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 483,083 | 1.4% | 4.1% |
| Manufacturing | 408,498 | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 388,421 | 3.7% | 4.6% |
| Educational Services | 362,436 | 0.7% | 2.4% |
| Construction | 289,097 | 1.9% | 2.3% |
| Finance & Insurance | 245,934 | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 219,383 | 1.8% | 3.1% |
| Wholesale Trade | 217,738 | 0.9% | 1.3% |
| Information | 200,433 | 3.5% | 5.1% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 170,655 | 1.2% | 1.6% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 90,078 | 1.8% | 4.6% |
| Utilities | 33,042 | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 16,453 | 1.1% | -0.3% |
| Mining | 5,914 | 1.8% | 2.8% |
State economic profile
Georgia Employment Trends
5.4m
Employment
4.2%
Unemployment
What Employment Trends are Impacting Georgia?
The state of Georgia employs 5,436,319 people in 2026, which ranks it 8th out of all 50 US states. Employment in Georgia has grown at an annualized rate of 2.6% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the national average of 1.7%. Major sectors by employment in Georgia include Retail Trade, Healthcare & Social Assistance and Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services, which employed 664,612, 651,241 and 497,876 people in 2026, respectively. Georgia's unemployment rate is 4.2% in 2026, which ranks it 23rd out of all 50 US states. Georgia's unemployment rate has trended upwards at a rate of 1.2% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the US economy as a whole.
Employment trends indicate the degree of tightness or slack in labor markets, in addition to the overall strength of an economy. Faster employment growth typically indicates a strong and growing economy, while lower unemployment tends to imply tightness in labor markets.
You can track unemployment trends in Georgia, and compare them to the US economy, using the chart below.
$119.1k
Per capita disposable income
What is Georgia's Per Capita Disposable Income?
Per capita disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that the average person in an economy has available for spending and saving after accounting for income taxes. Georgia's DPI in 2026 was $119.1k, compared to the US average of $156.5k, which places it 50th out of all 50 US states.
Disposable income is regarded as a key economic indicator as trends in disposable income are indicative of the level of aggregate demand, the state of labor markets and the financial strength of households.
You can track trends in Georgia's per capita disposable income, and compare it to the US average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Georgia Construction & Building Trends
$44,939.0tn
Nonresidential construction
$16.0tn
Residential construction
55,412
Building permits
What can construction trends tell you about a state’s economy?
In Georgia, non-residential construction was $44,939.0tn in 2026, which ranks it 48th out of all 50 US states. Residential construction was $16.0tn in 2026, which places Georgia 27th out of all 50 US states. The number of building permits issued in Georgia in 2026 was 55,412, representing a -3.2% annualized growth rate between 2021 and 2026.
Trends in the construction sector are important because it creates jobs, income and tax revenue for a state. In addition, construction sector activity impacts other sectors in its supply chain, including manufacturing, wholesaling, warehousing, transportation, and real estate, rental and leasing services. Therefore, construction trends are important indicators of the health of an economy.
You can track trends in the number of building permits issued in Georgia, and compare it to trends in the number issued in the United States as a whole, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Georgia Population Statistics
Which Counties in Georgia have the Largest Populations?
The counties with the highest populations in Georgia are Fulton County, Gwinnett County and Cobb County, which had populations of 1,097,073, 1,008,501 and 789,201 people in 2026.
| Region | 2026 population | Annual growth 2021-26 | Share of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton | 1.1m | 0.5% | 9.6% |
| Gwinnett | 1.0m | 0.8% | 8.8% |
| Cobb | 789.2k | 0.5% | 6.9% |
| Dekalb | 765.8k | 0.1% | 6.7% |
| Chatham | 312.1k | 0.9% | 2.7% |
| Cherokee | 305.0k | 2.1% | 2.7% |
| Clayton | 298.4k | N/A | 2.6% |
| Forsyth | 292.6k | 2.3% | 2.6% |
| Henry | 269.9k | 1.9% | 2.4% |
| Hall | 231.2k | 2.1% | 2.0% |
| Richmond | 204.5k | -0.2% | 1.8% |
| Muscogee | 198.9k | -0.5% | 1.7% |
| Paulding | 197.2k | 2.5% | 1.7% |
| Houston | 179.5k | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| Columbia | 173.6k | 1.7% | 1.5% |
| Coweta | 164.9k | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Bibb | 156.8k | 0.1% | 1.4% |
| Douglas | 153.9k | 1.0% | 1.4% |
| Carroll | 134.8k | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| Clarke | 130.9k | 0.3% | 1.1% |
| Fayette | 127.4k | 1.1% | 1.1% |
| Newton | 127.4k | 1.9% | 1.1% |
| Lowndes | 123.5k | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| Bartow | 121.2k | 1.7% | 1.1% |
| Walton | 117.0k | 3.1% | 1.0% |
State economic profile
Georgia Demographics
In Georgia, 37.8% of the population has a Bachelors or higher. The largest ethnic group in Georgia is White, accounting for 47.6% of the state's population.
Education level in Georgia
| Education level | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Bachelors or higher | 37.8 |
| Other | 62.2 |
Race in Georgia
| Race | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| White | 47.6 |
| Black | 32.0 |
| Hispanic | 12.3 |
| Asian | 5.5 |
| Other | 2.6 |
Georgia State industry reports
IBISWorld State Industry Reports help you quickly understand how an industry performs at the state level compared with the national level, with accurate and unbiased industry information with a local focus. Use this collection to:
- Discover key local industry trends
- Identify threats and opportunities at the subnational level
- Inform your business strategies and planning
See our list of 639 Georgia industry reports.
Other states to explore
Compare Georgia’s economy with other states in the United States.
Cut through the noise with intelligence you can trust
