Joseph Spector

ROC

Poughkeepsie and Rochester had the worst economic growth among the largest metropolitan areas in the country last year, a report this week found.

The report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that Poughkeepsie's gross metropolitan product -- the market value of goods and services produced within an metropolitan area -- dropped 1 percent between 2012 and 2013 -- the worst of any of the top 100 metro areas in the country.

Rochester was the second worst, a decline of 0.8 percent. Buffalo ranked the eighth worst at a negative 0.2 percent.

The fastest growing areas, the report said, were in the West and South, where the housing market is rebounding. Places like Rochester and Buffalo generally have small increases or declines in their property values -- which keeps the economy generally stable.

The GMP of Rochester and Buffalo were similar; Buffalo's was $47.5 billion last year and Rochester's was $47 billion. It was $42.9 billion in the Albany area; $28.8 billion in the Syracuse MSA and $23.3 billion in the Poughkeepsie area, which includes Newburgh.

Last year, the report said that 294 of the country's metropolitan areas had a GMP increase, while 69 metros either stayed flat or declined.

The largest area by GMP was the $1.4 trillion produced in the New York City metropolitan area, which has 12 million people in the region and includes the lower Hudson Valley.

The New York City area's economy alone would rank 13th among the nations of the world, ahead of Spain, South Korea and Mexico, the report said.

A report June 11 from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that New York's real gross domestic product ranked 46th in the nation in 2013, down from 27th in 2012.

Report by jspector