The economies of most Iowa metros are growing — except for two

All but two of Iowa's metropolitan areas saw their economies grow in 2017, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

The federal agency has released data showing that 312 of 383 metropolitan areas across the U.S. saw growth in their real gross domestic product, or GDP. That metric is the “most comprehensive measure of U.S. economic activity," the agency said. 

In Iowa, only Sioux City and Cedar Rapids saw their GDPs decline. Sioux City's GDP fell 4 percent, driven by losses in construction; natural resources and mining; and finance, insurance and real estate. 

Sioux City's decline followed two years of a "construction bubble," said Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson. Now, construction output largely has returned to normal levels, he said.

Sioux City saw massive construction gains with the addition of a $301 million pork plant that came online this month. Likewise, construction crews descended upon nearby Sergeant Bluff in recent years to add $2 billion in new fertilizer plant capacity. 

Those projects brought in thousands of workers but so far have had little lasting impact on the local economy, Swenson said. 

"It was temporary, and it always is," he said. "Those are huge projects that don't really have to do anything with the underlying fundamentals of their economy."

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Cedar Rapids also felt an economic decline. The state's second-largest city saw its GDP fall by 2.2 percent last year.

That was mostly driven by declines in the finance, insurance and real estate category. 

Swenson said Cedar Rapids leaders have long worked to diversify their economy away from its traditional emphasis on manufacturing.

But manufacturing continues to inch ahead, while more white-collar sectors contract. 

"A lot of diversification has evaporated over the last decade," he said. "They need to really work on diversifying."

The Ames economy grew more than all other Iowa metro areas: GDP increased by 5.7 percent, far outpacing the national metro average of 2.1 percent growth. 

The Des Moines area, the state's largest metropolitan area, saw GDP growth of 2.9 percent last year. 

The Iowa City metropolitan area saw small GDP growth of .5 percent, while the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro saw stronger growth of 3.3 percent. 

The Davenport metro's GDP expanded by 2.6 percent in 2017, while Dubuque saw a 2.9  percent improvement.