Real GDP per capita

Real GDP divided by the population: output per person, inflation adjusted.

What it measures

The same output as real GDP, spread evenly over everyone living in the country — the usual way to compare economic scale across periods with different population sizes.

How it is measured

BEA output divided by Census population estimates, quarterly, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate.

Reading it over a presidential term

Removing population growth removes roughly half a percentage point a year of headline GDP growth in recent decades, so terms look different on this metric than on real GDP. Compare by annualized percent change.

What it leaves out

An average, and an average is not a typical person: it rises if all the gains go to the top. Pair it with a median measure — real median household income or real median weekly earnings — if distribution is part of what you care about.

Chart this series · See it by president · Download the data · The source at FRED