This chart shows the distribution of EMA embedded local growth characteristics, indicating the size of an EMA’s economic growth engine. There are two distributions: one of the Top 50 largest EMAs by population and another of the next 100 midsized cities. The further to the right an EMA is located on the distribution curve, the larger its growth engine. An EMA’s embedded local growth characteristics incorporate its industry mix and demographic factors that drive economic expansion. We divide our sample by population into two groups because our model indicates that the growth characteristics of these groups are dissimilar, meaning that it is less useful to compare large EMAs to midsized ones.

Productivity is a crucial factor in determining a society's standard of living, and it is often measured by economic output per worker. Various approaches, including mechanization, efficient energy use and improved organization, can increase productivity by enabling workers to accomplish more in their working hours. Higher productivity allows for production of more goods and services with the same effort, ultimately leading to higher living standards. For this reason, economists, business leaders and policymakers strive to increase productivity.

These charts show industry GDP shares and employment shares for each EMA. Use them to compare EMA industry mixes to each other and to the United States.

Sector GDP Share
This treemap shows each sector's and subsector's GDP share. Hover over the boxes for details.

Productivity
This plot shows the economic output and labor input for each industry. The difference between an industry’s green dot (GDP share) and blue dot (employment share) indicates the industry’s relative productivity, illustrated by the gray line. If the green dot is to the right of the blue dot, it indicates an industry with high productivity per worker. Conversely, if the blue dot is to the right of the green, it designates lower productivity per worker. Hover over the dots for details. Compare the ratios of employment and GDP shares between EMAs or view an EMA’s shares relative to the United States to get a sense of differences in productivity.

Sector Employment Shares
View which industries employ the most people in each EMA and compare these measures across EMAs. Hover over the bars for details.