East Coast of the United States
Third of Americans generate third of GDP; Northeast Corridor's $9T economy spans Boston-to-DC research, finance, and government clusters.
The Eastern Seaboard concentrates a third of Americans and generates a third of the U.S. economy—$9 trillion from a strip of states between Maine and Florida. The Northeast Corridor alone—Boston to Washington—produces 20% of national GDP on just 2% of the land area. Five metropolitan engines drive this: Boston's research economy, New York's financial markets, Philadelphia's healthcare and pharma, Baltimore's logistics, and Washington's government apparatus.
The region's productivity reflects historical accumulation. Ports that received colonial trade evolved into financial centers. Universities founded before independence anchor innovation ecosystems. Dense rail networks that predated automobiles now carry Amtrak's Northeast Regional. What Europe accomplished over millennia, the East Coast compressed into four centuries.
Yet 2025 reveals vulnerabilities. International tourist arrivals declined 21% year-over-year, devastating leisure sectors in states where tourism exceeds 10% of GDP. Return-to-office policies benefit New York but cannot offset broader headwinds. Trade uncertainty affects container ports from Newark to Savannah. The financial sector benefits from AI investment and M&A activity; other sectors struggle.
By 2026, the East Coast will likely maintain its economic dominance while adjusting to structural shifts in how that dominance expresses. Higher-income households return to metro areas; middle-income households disperse to Sun Belt alternatives. What persists is the fundamental advantage: density that enables interaction, interaction that generates productivity.