Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Regional Roundup: Coast-to-coast growth
From spending to wages, growth is broad-based across the US, though the South is the clear leader in new business applications.
October 2026
Key takeaways
- Bank of America aggregated credit and debit card spending per household is growing at healthy rates across the country. Discretionary spending growth has improved markedly relative to the last two years. While the West has led recently and the South has lagged somewhat, no region appears to be experiencing a meaningful consumer slowdown.
- The South has seen softer discretionary retail spending, particularly in home-related durable goods categories. However, the region continues to post the strongest after-tax wage growth and has been the largest contributor to growth in new business applications nationwide.
- Business formation is occurring across a wide range of industries, with professional services, retail, healthcare, construction and hospitality all accounting for meaningful shares of new business applications. While entrepreneurial activity is broad-based across industries nationwide, industry revenue mixes vary considerably by region.
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