Real GDP per capita under Ronald Reagan

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

Over 1981-01-20 to 1989-01-19, measured in Chained 2017 Dollars:

Term average

35,229.53 Chained 2017 Dollars

At the start

32,236 Chained 2017 Dollars

At the end

39,648 Chained 2017 Dollars

Change

+7,412 Chained 2017 Dollars

Low

31,337 Chained 2017 Dollars (1982-10-01)

High

39,648 Chained 2017 Dollars (1989-01-01)

Coverage

100% (32 observations)

Reading this series 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.

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.

These are the observed values over the window above, and nothing more. This site does not say which direction is better, and none of this is a claim that Ronald Reagan caused the number to move.

What Real GDP per capita measures · Ronald Reagan: the whole record · Chart it · Compare with another president · The source at FRED