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Buffalo Economy Outpaces U.S. Average

Business First by G. Scott Thomas
Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Buffalo area's economy grew at a healthy pace of 3 percent last year, outperforming the national average of 2.5 percent, according to figures released Tuesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the gross metropolitan product (GMP) of the two-county Buffalo metro area was $45.15 billion in 2010. That was up 3 percent from the inflation-adjusted figure for 2009.

GMP is the total output of goods and services in a given area during a given year -- a small-scale version of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

Click here for the latest GMP figures for all 366 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Buffalo ranks 54th in GMP. Rochester is a step ahead in 53rd place with a gross metropolitan product of $45.74 billion.

The New York City metro, which sprawls across portions of three states, is the national leader with $1.28 trillion in GMP.

The national runners-up are Los Angeles at $735.74 billion, Chicago at $532.33 billion and Washington at $425.17 billion.

Elizabethtown, Ky., posted the largest single-year increase in GMP, 14.4 percent. The biggest gain by a major metropolitan area was registered by San Jose, which was up 13.4 percent.