US Real GDP Growth Rate by Year: 1948–2026
Real GDP growth measures the change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced in the United States. It is the broadest single measure of economic activity and the denominator against which deficit, debt and earnings comparisons are usually drawn.
Growth averaged 8.69% at its strongest year (1950) and -2.58% at its weakest (2009). In 2026 the annual average is 2.04%.
US real GDP growth by year, 1948–2026
| Year | Annual average | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (YTD) | 2.04% | −0.31 pp |
| 2025 | 2.34% | −0.61 pp |
| 2024 | 2.95% | +0.03 pp |
| 2023 | 2.92% | +0.49 pp |
| 2022 | 2.43% | −3.84 pp |
| 2021 | 6.27% | +8.35 pp |
| 2020 | -2.08% | −4.67 pp |
| 2019 | 2.58% | −0.38 pp |
| 2018 | 2.97% | +0.51 pp |
| 2017 | 2.46% | +0.64 pp |
| 2016 | 1.82% | −1.13 pp |
| 2015 | 2.95% | +0.42 pp |
| 2014 | 2.52% | +0.41 pp |
| 2013 | 2.12% | −0.17 pp |
| 2012 | 2.29% | +0.72 pp |
| 2011 | 1.56% | −1.13 pp |
| 2010 | 2.70% | +5.27 pp |
| 2009 | -2.58% | −2.69 pp |
| 2008 | 0.11% | −1.89 pp |
| 2007 | 2.00% | −0.78 pp |
| 2006 | 2.78% | −0.70 pp |
| 2005 | 3.48% | −0.36 pp |
| 2004 | 3.85% | +1.05 pp |
| 2003 | 2.80% | +1.10 pp |
| 2002 | 1.70% | +0.74 pp |
| 2001 | 0.96% | −3.12 pp |
| 2000 | 4.08% | −0.71 pp |
| 1999 | 4.79% | +0.31 pp |
| 1998 | 4.48% | +0.04 pp |
| 1997 | 4.45% | +0.67 pp |
| 1996 | 3.77% | +1.09 pp |
| 1995 | 2.68% | −1.34 pp |
| 1994 | 4.03% | +1.28 pp |
| 1993 | 2.75% | −0.77 pp |
| 1992 | 3.52% | +3.63 pp |
| 1991 | -0.11% | −1.99 pp |
| 1990 | 1.89% | −1.79 pp |
| 1989 | 3.67% | −0.50 pp |
| 1988 | 4.18% | +0.72 pp |
| 1987 | 3.45% | −0.01 pp |
| 1986 | 3.46% | −0.71 pp |
| 1985 | 4.17% | −3.07 pp |
| 1984 | 7.24% | +2.65 pp |
| 1983 | 4.58% | +6.39 pp |
| 1982 | -1.80% | −4.34 pp |
| 1981 | 2.54% | +2.79 pp |
| 1980 | -0.26% | −3.42 pp |
| 1979 | 3.17% | −2.37 pp |
| 1978 | 5.54% | +0.91 pp |
| 1977 | 4.62% | −0.76 pp |
| 1976 | 5.39% | +5.59 pp |
| 1975 | -0.21% | +0.33 pp |
| 1974 | -0.54% | −6.19 pp |
| 1973 | 5.65% | +0.39 pp |
| 1972 | 5.26% | +1.96 pp |
| 1971 | 3.29% | +3.11 pp |
| 1970 | 0.18% | −2.94 pp |
| 1969 | 3.12% | −1.79 pp |
| 1968 | 4.91% | +2.17 pp |
| 1967 | 2.74% | −3.85 pp |
| 1966 | 6.60% | +0.10 pp |
| 1965 | 6.50% | +0.74 pp |
| 1964 | 5.76% | +1.41 pp |
| 1963 | 4.36% | −1.77 pp |
| 1962 | 6.13% | +3.56 pp |
| 1961 | 2.57% | −0.01 pp |
| 1960 | 2.57% | −4.36 pp |
| 1959 | 6.93% | +7.67 pp |
| 1958 | -0.74% | −2.85 pp |
| 1957 | 2.11% | −0.03 pp |
| 1956 | 2.13% | −5.00 pp |
| 1955 | 7.13% | +7.71 pp |
| 1954 | -0.58% | −5.26 pp |
| 1953 | 4.69% | +0.60 pp |
| 1952 | 4.08% | −3.96 pp |
| 1951 | 8.04% | −0.65 pp |
| 1950 | 8.69% | +9.25 pp |
| 1949 | -0.56% | −4.68 pp |
| 1948 | 4.12% | — |
What the record shows
Volatility has fallen, and so has the trend rate. Post-war annual growth routinely swung between −2% and +7%. Since the mid-1980s the amplitude has compressed, but so has the average: the trend rate of roughly 3% in the 1990s has settled closer to 2% in the 2020s as labour-force growth slowed.
Recessions are short and deep. The 2009 contraction on this annual measure is the deepest in the post-war record, and the rebound that followed was equally extreme. Annual data flatters both: the actual decline lasted two quarters while the annual figure embeds a full year of shutdown.
Nominal versus real is the trap. Headline GDP figures quoted in the press are usually nominal. In a period of 4% inflation, a 5% nominal print is only about 1% of real growth — which is why this page reports the real series and nothing else.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US GDP growth rate?
The 2026 annual average is 2.04% in real terms. The latest quarterly reading implies 2.07% year-over-year growth.
What was the worst year for US GDP?
The deepest annual contraction in the post-war series is -2.58% in 2009.
What is a good GDP growth rate for the US?
Between 1948 and 2000 real growth averaged close to 3.5%. Since 2010 the average has been nearer 2%, so a sustained print above 2.5% is now considered strong.
Source and method
All figures on this page are computed at build time from the Real Gross Domestic Product series (FRED identifier GDPC1) published by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and distributed by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Annual figures are averages of the underlying observations; growth and inflation rates are year-over-year changes of those annual averages. Where a year is incomplete the figure is labelled YTD.
Data retrieved 2026-10-30. Raw series: FRED — Real Gross Domestic Product. Chart and table code licensed CC BY 4.0 — reuse freely with attribution to CapitalWire.
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