How big is paper products manufacturing in the U.S.?

Paper Products manufacturing produced $75.2B of value added in 2025, or 2.6% of all U.S. manufacturing output and 0.2% of total GDP, per BEA GDP-by-industry data. It ranks 14 of 19 manufacturing subsectors by size.

Is paper products manufacturing growing or shrinking?

In the latest annual data (2025), paper products value added is up 1.1% year over year in dollar terms. The full quarterly series since 2005 is charted above and updates with each BEA release.

Which states produce the most paper products?

Georgia leads with $5.8B of paper products GDP in 2024, followed by Wisconsin ($5.4B) and Pennsylvania ($4.5B), per BEA state GDP data.

Is paper products a durable or nondurable goods industry?

BEA classes paper products manufacturing as nondurable goods. Nondurable goods (food, chemicals, plastics, fuel, paper) are products generally consumed within three years.

Manufacturing Economy Monitor

Paper Products Manufacturing

Paper Products manufacturing produced $75.2B of value added in 2025. That is 2.6% of all U.S. manufacturing output and 0.2% of GDP, making it the 14th-largest of the 19 manufacturing subsectors the Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks. Output grew 1.1% year over year. It is classed as nondurable goods manufacturing; the largest producing state is Georgia ($5.8B in 2024).

Output and growth

Value added: $75.2B in 2025, 2.6% of all U.S. manufacturing and 0.2% of GDP.
Year-over-year change: +1.1% in dollar terms.
Classification: nondurable goods manufacturing (BEA subsector 322).

Top producing states

Georgia: $5.8B (2024)
Wisconsin: $5.4B (2024)
Pennsylvania: $4.5B (2024)

Frequently asked questions

How big is paper products manufacturing in the U.S.? Paper Products manufacturing produced $75.2B of value added in 2025, or 2.6% of all U.S. manufacturing output and 0.2% of total GDP, per BEA GDP-by-industry data. It ranks 14 of 19 manufacturing subsectors by size.
Is paper products manufacturing growing or shrinking? In the latest annual data (2025), paper products value added is up 1.1% year over year in dollar terms. The full quarterly series since 2005 is charted above and updates with each BEA release.
Which states produce the most paper products? Georgia leads with $5.8B of paper products GDP in 2024, followed by Wisconsin ($5.4B) and Pennsylvania ($4.5B), per BEA state GDP data.
Is paper products a durable or nondurable goods industry? BEA classes paper products manufacturing as nondurable goods. Nondurable goods (food, chemicals, plastics, fuel, paper) are products generally consumed within three years.

About this data

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (public domain). National quarterly values are seasonally adjusted annual rates. Corporate-profit industry detail reflects inventory valuation adjustment without capital consumption adjustment, per NIPA table 6.16D conventions.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.