California shows modest growth in 2010

The state's gross domestic product rose 1.8 percent, helped along mostly by the technology and manufacturing sectors. Overall, the U.S. GDP grew by 2.6 percent, though many others states, including Texas, New York and Pennsylvania, did considerably better. The Midwest and Eastern Seaboard states tended to show the largest growth, while the Southeast, Southwest, and Far West tended to lag. None of this is surprising, but the map does provide, at a glance, a general sense of the nation's economic hot and cold spots (states in dark blue are faring the best). In other words, there is a reason why California's jobless rate stands at 11.9 percent and why North Dakota's rate is 3.3 percent. Data is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.