Economy

Georgia's 2007 total gross state product was $396 billion. Its per capita personal income for 2005 put it 10th in the nation at $40,155.

If Georgia were a stand-alone country, it would be the 28th largest economy in the world.

There are 15 Fortune 500 companies and 26 Fortune 1000 companies with headquarters in Georgia, including such names as

Georgia has over 1,700 internationally headquartered facilities representing 43 countries, employing more than 112,000 Georgians with an estimated capital investment of $22.7 billion.

Agriculture and industry

Georgia's agricultural outputs are poultry and eggs, pecans, peaches, peanuts, rye, cattle, hogs, dairy products, turfgrass, tobacco, and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are textiles and apparel, transportation equipment, cigarettes, food processing, paper products, chemical products, electric equipment. Tourism also makes an important contribution to the economy. Georgia is home to the Granite Capital of the World (Elberton). Atlanta has been the site of enormous growth in real estate, service, and communications industries.

Atlanta has a very large effect on the state of Georgia and the Southeastern United States. The city is an ever growing addition to communications, industry, transportation, tourism, and government. Food is also a major industry in Georgia, with widespread farms producing peanuts, corn, and soybeans across middle and South Georgia. The state is the number one producer of pecans in the world, with the region around Albany in southwest Georgia being the center of Georgia's pecan production. Gainesville in northeast Georgia touts itself as the Poultry Capital of the World.

Industry in Georgia is quite diverse. Major products in the mineral and timber industry include a variety of pines, clays, stones, and sands. Textile industry is located around the cities of Rome, Columbus, Augusta, Macon and along the I-75 corridor between Atlanta and Chattanooga, TN to include the towns of Cartersville, Calhoun, Ringgold, and Dalton--the Carpet Capital of the World.

Energy use and production

Georgia's electricity generation and consumption are among the highest in the United States, with coal being the primary electrical generation of fuel. However, the state also has two nuclear power plants which contribute less than one fourth of Georgia's electricity generation. The statistics are 75% coal, 16% nuclear, 7% oil and natural gas, and 1% hydroelectric/other. The leading area of energy consumption is the industrial sector because Georgia "is a leader in the energy-intensive wood and paper products industry".

State taxes

Georgia's personal income tax ranges from 1% to 6% within six tax brackets. There is a 4% state sales tax, which is not applied to prescription drugs, certain medical devices, and groceries. Each county may add up to a 2% SPLOST. Counties participating in MARTA have another 1%; MARTA is the only major metropolitan rapid transit authority in the U.S. not to receive state funding. The city of Atlanta (in two counties, roughly 90% in Fulton and 10% in Dekalb) has the only city sales tax (1%, total 8%) for fixing its aging sewers. Local taxes are almost always charged on groceries but never prescriptions. All taxes are collected by the Georgia Department of Revenue and then properly distributed according to any agreements that each county has with its cities.