A striking Canada-U.S. comparison is making the rounds: Canada’s economic output per person in 2025 was lower than that of every U.S. state.
The numbers support the basic claim, although the headline needs context.
The World Bank puts Canada’s 2025 GDP per capita at US$55,697.7, measured in current U.S. dollars.
At the bottom of the U.S. state rankings is Mississippi. Using the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ GDP-by-state data and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2025 population estimate for Mississippi, its GDP works out to roughly US$55,877 per person. Mississippi’s estimated July 1, 2025 population was 2,954,160.
That puts Canada about US$179 per person below Mississippi, a gap of roughly 0.3 per cent.
The comparison supports saying Canada was below all 50 states in the 2025 data.
What does the comparison actually tell Canadians?
GDP per capita measures the value of economic output divided by the population. It is useful for comparing how much economic activity is generated per resident, but it is not the same as average wages, household income, wealth or disposable income.
NEW: Canada is now OFFICIALLY poorer than ALL 50 US states.
Canada’s GDP per capita fell below Mississippi in the newly released 2025 figures.
$55,698 USD vs. $55,877 USD
Src: World Bank, FRED, BEA
— Tablesalt 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@Tablesalt13) September 24, 2026
There is another complication. Canada’s World Bank figure is converted into U.S. dollars, meaning movements in the Canadian dollar can affect the comparison even if domestic production does not change by the same amount.
The U.S. as a whole remains considerably higher. The World Bank’s 2025 data puts nominal GDP per capita at US$90,026.5 in the United States, compared with Canada’s US$55,697.7.
What if purchasing power is taken into account?
Purchasing-power parity, or PPP, adjusts for differences in price levels between countries.
On the World Bank’s PPP measure, Canada’s 2025 GDP per capita was $66,745.8 in current international dollars, compared with $90,026.5 for the United States. The U.S. figure is therefore about 35 per cent higher even after adjusting for purchasing-power differences.
PPP makes international comparisons more useful, but it still measures economic output rather than what individual households actually earn or can spend.
The gap is also visible in current growth forecasts.
The OECD’s September 2026 Economic Outlook expects Canada’s real GDP to grow 0.9 per cent in 2026 and 1.3 per cent in 2027. The United States is forecast to grow 2.2 per cent in 2026 and 2.1 per cent in 2027.
Being below every U.S. state on one nominal GDP-per-capita calculation does not mean Canadians have lower living standards than residents of every U.S. state.
GDP measures economic production, not household income or quality of life, and the Canada-Mississippi gap in the 2025 calculation is only about 0.3 per cent.
Broader measures also produce a different picture: UNDP ranks Canada slightly ahead of the United States on human development and further ahead after accounting for inequality, while OECD data show Canadians living about three years longer on average.
None of those measures erase Canada’s productivity and income challenges, but they show why the GDP comparison should be treated as one economic indicator rather than an overall scorecard of life in the two countries.
Canada is the best-connected economy in the world, with tariff-free access to 1.5 billion consumers globally.
That’s why we’re building new ports, trade corridors, roads, bridges — the infrastructure that will make it even easier to sell the things Canadians grow, produce, and… pic.twitter.com/nMogeqNyaD
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) September 24, 2026