Connecticut's economy expanded at a 3% annual rate in the second quarter of 2026, the fastest pace in New England and above the national rate, according to federal figures reported September 30 by the Hartford Business Journal.
The state's inflation-adjusted gross domestic product accelerated from a revised 1.8% annual growth rate in the first quarter. Connecticut tied Florida for the seventh-fastest state growth rate in the April-June period, the newspaper reported.
Manufacturing contributed 1.1 percentage points to Connecticut's overall growth, led by durable goods production. Finance and insurance added 0.83 points, information added 0.52 and real estate and rental and leasing added 0.51. Declines in government output, retail trade and transportation and warehousing offset part of those gains.
The regional comparison put Massachusetts and Vermont at 2.7% growth each, New Hampshire at 2%, Maine at 1.4% and Rhode Island at 0.9%, according to the Business Journal's account of the data.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported national real GDP growth of 2.2% in its September 30 release, revised upward from the previous estimate of 1.5%. Economic output increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
Nationally, consumer spending, investment and exports contributed to the second-quarter increase, BEA said. The leading industry contributors included real estate and rental and leasing, information, durable goods manufacturing, and finance and insurance. Those overlap with several of the sectors driving Connecticut's expansion.
The national revision also changed the picture of the quarter. BEA attributed the increase from its earlier estimate primarily to revised investment, consumer spending and government spending figures. The September release incorporated an annual update covering national economic accounts from the first quarter of 2021 through the first quarter of 2026, along with updates to state statistics.
The next national GDP release is scheduled for October 29. It will provide the advance estimate for the third quarter, a separate reporting period from the April-June figures.
The percentages are annualized, seasonally adjusted rates. They describe the pace that would result if the quarter's growth continued for a full year, rather than the percentage change during those three months alone. The inflation adjustment removes changes attributable to prices, so the comparison measures growth in real economic output.
Updated October 2: This article has been expanded with additional sourced context.
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