The Corridor’s economy picked up steam in 2018, growing at a 2.6% rate, according to new county-level data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The Corridor’s seven-county area reported a real gross domestic product (GDP) of $28.1 billion last year, up from $27.4 billion in 2017. GDP is the value of goods and services produced within a county.

The Corridor’s economy grew by just 1% in 2017, and 0.1% in 2016.

Benton County reported the region’s largest percentage increase in 2018, growing by 8.8% to $740.8 million – enough to rank it No. 10 in the state for percentage change. Cedar County reported 8.2% growth after two years of decreases, reaching $544.3 million.

Linn County grew by 2.5%, to $15.9 billion, while Johnson County grew 1.3%, to $8.3 billion.

The state of Iowa saw its real GDP grow by 2.2% in 2018, to $172 billion, reversing two years of flat growth. U.S. GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from 2.4% in 2017.