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Connecticut’s economy grew faster than nearly any other state in the nation at the end of 2020, even as it dealt with a surge in COVID-19 cases thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Federal data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis says the state’s real GDP grew 7 percent, just behind Utah’s 7.1 percent growth rate and Texas’ 7.5 percent growth rate but substantially behind South Dakota’s 9.9 percent growth rate.

The state’s 2020 real GDP was still 4.1 percent below where it was in 2019, however. That puts it behind many other Southern states like Virginia and Georgia, which are only 2.5 percent below their 2019 levels, and Western states like Arizona and Utah, which are less that 1 percent below the same mark.

The nation’s economy grew 4.3 percent in Q4, the bureau reported.

Accommodation and food services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and healthcare and social assistance were the leading contributors to the decrease in real GDP nationally, federal statisticians said.