California\u2019s fastest-growing economies so far this century are in the Bay Area or inland.<\/p>\n
My trusty spreadsheet<\/a> compared county-level gross domestic product stats for 2024, the latest available, and 2001, the oldest numbers in the dataset, to identify the Golden State\u2019s hottest business climates. The growth rates, not adjusted for inflation, were compared with the expansion pace of all U.S. counties tracked.<\/p>\n There were 16 California counties in which GDP tripled in the 23 years. Four of these fast-growth counties were around the Bay Area, and the other 12 were inland.<\/p>\n San Mateo was California\u2019s top growth county, with GDP up 379% between 2001 and 2024. The expansion pace ranked 142nd fastest nationwide.<\/p>\n San Mateo\u2019s increase put its 2024 GDP at $217 billion \u2013 No. 6 among the state\u2019s counties and No. 15 in the nation.<\/p>\n By the way, the statewide GDP almost tripled in this period \u2013 up 195% to $4 trillion. And the nation\u2019s GDP grew 176% to $29 trillion.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the other counties where GDP at least tripled fared, ranked among the state\u2019s 58 counties by their growth rates:<\/p>\n \u2013 San Francisco: 281% growth rate that ranked 330 nationally to $268 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 5 statewide and No. 11 in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Madera: 276% growth \u2013 No. 353 U.S. \u2013 to $8.9 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 34 state, No. 482 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Modoc: 274% growth \u2013 No. 359 U.S. \u2013 to $688 million in 2024 \u2013 No. 55 state, No. 2149 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Riverside: 269% growth \u2013 No. 379 U.S. \u2013 to $135 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 10 state, No. 41 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Santa Clara: 264% growth \u2013 No. 396 U.S. \u2013 to $438 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 2 state, No. 6 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Imperial: 254% growth \u2013 No. 434 U.S. \u2013 to $13 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 29 state, No. 353 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Solano: 242% growth \u2013 No. 493 U.S. \u2013 to $38 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 19 state, No. 154 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Placer: 239% growth \u2013 No. 511 U.S. \u2013 to $34.3 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 21 state, No. 172 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 San Bernardino: 230% growth \u2013 No. 568 U.S. \u2013 to $138 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 8 state, No. 36 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Colusa: 223% growth \u2013 No. 610 U.S. \u2013 to $2 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 47 state, No. 1265 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Kern: 223% growth \u2013 No. 621 U.S. \u2013 to $63 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 14 state, No. 92 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Merced: 213% growth \u2013 No. 712 U.S. \u2013 to $13 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 28 state, No. 348 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Fresno: 205% growth \u2013 No. 786 U.S. \u2013 to $64 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 13 state, No. 89 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Kings: 204% growth \u2013 No. 790 U.S. \u2013 to $9 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 33 state, No. 464 U.S.<\/p>\n \u2013 Yuba: 201% growth \u2013 No. 821 U.S. \u2013 to $4.5 billion in 2024 \u2013 No. 39 state, No. 743 U.S.<\/p>\n Nationally speaking<\/p>\n The fastest-growing counties in the U.S., 2024 vs. 2001\u2026<\/p>\n \u2013 Loving, Texas, up 8,628% to $11 billion.<\/p>\n \u2013 Culberson, Texas, up 6,724% to $4 billion.<\/p>\n \u2013 Martin, Texas, up 6,599% to $16 billion.<\/p>\n \u2013 Reeves, Texas, up 3,581% to $14 billion.<\/p>\n \u2013 Dunn, Texas, up 3,177% to $2 billion.<\/p>\n Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com<\/a><\/p>\n