What Was the U.S. GDP Then?

Annual Observations in Table and Graphical Format
1790 to the Present.

      What Was?
US Nominal GDP
US Real GDP
US GDP Deflator
US Population
US Nominal GDP Per Capita
US Real GDP Per Capita
Initial Year *:  
Ending Year *:
* Select initial and ending years from 1790 to the present.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the market value of all final goods and services produced and purchased within a country during a given time period. There are two measures GDP:

  • Nominal GDP is the value of production at current market prices, here measured in millions of US Dollars.
  • Real GDP is the value of production using a given base year prices, here presented at constant (2005) market prices measured in millions of US Dollars.

The GDP Deflator is the price index used to measure changes in the overall level of prices for the goods and services that make up GDP. It is simply the ratio of nominal to real GDP times 100. It is also 100 times the ratio of nominal GDP per capita (per-capita GDP at current market prices) to real GDP per capita (per-capita GDP at constant (2005) market prices).

GDP per capita is calculated by dividing either nominal or real GDP for a given year by the population in that year. These numbers can be thought of as the average share of output per person.

The data here from 1929 to 2012 are from the BEA before the revision of July 2013.

For information about the data presented here, see "Sources and Techniques Used in the Construction of Annual GDP, 1790 - Present."




Citation

Louis Johnston and Samuel H. Williamson, "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?" MeasuringWorth, .

URL: http://www.measuringworth.org/usgdp12/

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