ABOUT
the rules this site runs on
The Stats shows 49 long-run indicators of American life, reaching back as far as 50 years, every value taken from the agency that publishes it: the Federal Reserve and FRED, BLS, BEA, the Census Bureau, the FBI, BJS, CDC/NCHS, CMS, EIA, NOAA, Pew Research Center, and the World Happiness Report. No aggregators, no estimates of our own, no interpolation. Where an agency's coverage starts late or ends early, the series does too, and the row says so. Where a series changes methodology mid-stream — the FBI's move from UCR estimates to CDE reported rates at 2000, the NHIS redesign in 2019 — the seam is disclosed below rather than smoothed over. Dashed lines on the charts mark shared macro events: 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak, 1987 Black Monday crash, 1991 Gulf War recession, 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11, 2008 Global financial crisis, 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Economy & Work
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment Rate percent, annual average · 1948–2026 | BLS U-3 unemployment rate, annual average of monthly figures. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE |
| Underemployment (U-6) percent, annual average · 1994–2026 | BLS U-6: unemployed plus marginally attached plus part-time for economic reasons. Published from 1994. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U6RATE |
| Labor Force Participation percent, annual average · 1948–2026 | Share of the civilian population 16+ working or looking for work. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART |
| Real GDP Growth percent per year · 1930–2025 | BEA real GDP, annual percent change. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A191RL1A225NBEA |
| Labor Productivity index, 2017 = 100 · 1947–2026 | BLS nonfarm business output per hour, annual average of quarters. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/OPHNFB |
| CPI Inflation percent per year · 1948–2026 | CPI-U year-over-year change; partial years compare matching months. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL |
| Real Median Household Income 2024 dollars · 1984–2024 | Census/BLS, inflation-adjusted; published with a one-year lag. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N |
| Manufacturing Jobs employees, annual average · 1939–2026 | BLS payroll employment in manufacturing, annual average of monthly figures. FRED serves thousands; converted to persons. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MANEMP |
| New Business Applications applications per year · 2005–2025 | Census Business Formation Statistics; tracking began July 2004, so the series starts 2005. Partial years excluded. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BABATOTALSAUS |
Money & Debt
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Revolving Consumer Credit billions of dollars, year-end · 1968–2026 | Fed G.19 revolving credit (overwhelmingly credit cards), nominal; current year shows latest month. FRED serves millions; converted to billions. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/REVOLSL |
| Student Loan Debt billions of dollars, year-end · 2006–2024 | Fed G.19 student loans owned and securitized, nominal. The series was discontinued after 2024 Q4, so it ends there. FRED serves millions; converted to billions. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLOAS |
| Personal Saving Rate percent of disposable income · 1959–2026 | BEA personal saving as share of disposable personal income. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT |
| Household Debt Service Ratio percent of disposable income · 2005–2026 | Fed: required debt payments as share of disposable income. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TDSP |
| Federal Debt to GDP percent of GDP · 1966–2026 | Total public debt as percent of GDP, annual average of quarters. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S |
| Federal Funds Rate percent, annual average · 1954–2026 | Effective federal funds rate. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS |
| 30-Year Mortgage Rate percent, annual average · 1971–2026 | Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US |
| Stock Market (NASDAQ) index, annual average of daily closes · 1971–2026 | NASDAQ Composite, annual average of daily closing values, nominal and not dividend-adjusted. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NASDAQCOM |
Cost of Living
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Median Home Sale Price dollars, annual average · 1963–2026 | Census/HUD median sales price of houses sold, nominal. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS |
| Rent CPI index, 1982-84 = 100 · 1930–2026 | BLS CPI-U rent of primary residence, not seasonally adjusted. Shown as the published index; the row's change is the cumulative rise over the window. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SEHA |
| Homeownership Rate percent of households, annual average · 1965–2026 | Census Housing Vacancies and Homeownership survey. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N |
| Housing Starts units per year · 1959–2026 | Census new privately-owned housing units started, annual average of monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates. FRED serves thousands; converted to units. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST |
| Regular Gasoline Price dollars per gallon, annual average · 1990–2026 | EIA weekly US regular retail price, nominal. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GASREGW |
| Electricity Price dollars per kilowatt-hour · 1978–2026 | BLS average consumer price, US city average, nominal. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU000072610 |
Wealth & Inequality
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Income Inequality (Gini) Gini index, 0-100 · 1963–2024 | World Bank Gini index for the United States, built on Census income data. Higher means more unequal. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SIPOVGINIUSA |
| Top 1% Wealth Share percent of household net worth · 1989–2026 | Fed Distributional Financial Accounts, share of total household net worth held by the top 1 percent, annual average of quarters. Published from 1989. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBST01134 |
| Poverty Rate percent of people, all ages · 1989–2024 | Census SAIPE estimated percent of people of all ages in poverty. Published from 1989. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PPAAUS00000A156NCEN |
Education
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| College Attainment percent of adults 25 and over · 1940–2024 | Share of people 25 and over who have completed four or more years of college. The question changed in 1992 from years completed to degree received, so figures before and after that seam are close but not identical in definition. | census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/educational-attainment/c |
| College Tuition CPI index, 1982-84 = 100 · 1978–2026 | BLS CPI-U tuition, other school fees and childcare. Shown as the published index; the row's change is the cumulative rise over the window. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SEEB |
Health
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy at Birth years at birth, both sexes · 1970–2024 | 1970-1999 annual from US Life Tables 2021 (NVSR 72-12) Table 19; CDC/NCHS. 2000-2018 from Health, United States 2019 Table 4 (curated revised trend; the Socrata dataset is defective at 2003-2004 and was corrected against Table 4); 2011 from NVSR 63-3; 2019-2024 from Data Briefs 395/456/548. 2024 final = 79.0. Table 19 independently confirms 2000-2003 including the 77.2 correction. | cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-12.pdf |
| Health Spending percent of GDP · 1960–2024 | Total US national health expenditures as a share of gross domestic product — public and private spending combined. | data.cdc.gov/d/s57w-7gbe |
| Suicide Rate age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 · 2000–2024 | CDC/NCHS NVSS mortality files (ICD-10 U03, X60-X84, Y87.0), age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population. 2000-2001 from Data Brief 433, 2002-2022 from Data Brief 509, 2023 from Data Brief 541; all overlapping years identical across briefs. 2023 latest final. 2024 final (13.7) from Data Brief 548. | cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db433-tables.pdf |
| Drug Overdose Deaths age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 · 2000–2024 | CDC/NCHS NVSS mortality files (ICD-10 X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, Y10-Y14), age-adjusted. 2000-2002 from Data Brief 428, 2003-2023 from Data Brief 522; the 2003-2020 overlap is identical across briefs. 2023 latest final. 2024 final (23.1) from Data Brief 549 — a 26% single-year drop. | cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db428-tables.pdf |
| Adult Smoking Rate percent of adults, current cigarette smokers (crude) · 2000–2024 | NHIS crude prevalence, adults 18+. 2000-2018 from the annual MMWR smoking-prevalence series; 2019-2024 from the NCHS Data Query System (NHIS Adult Summary Health Statistics). NHIS was redesigned in 2019, so the two legs are not strictly comparable across that boundary. | data.cdc.gov/resource/gj3i-hsbz.json |
Crime & Justice
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Rate offenses per 100,000 people · 1976–2024 | Reported offenses per 100k. 2021 dip partly reflects the NIBRS reporting transition. 1976-1990 from FBI Crime in the United States 1995 Table 1 (UCR national estimates); 1991-1999 from the CIUS 2010 edition Table 1 (later revisions; overlap with the 1995 edition agrees within 0.3). LINEAGE SEAM at 2000: pre-2000 values are UCR estimated rates, 2000+ are FBI CDE reported rates — the two methodologies differ (UCR-estimated 2000 was 506.5 vs CDE-reported 534.4), so the 1999-2000 step is not a like-for-like change. | cde.ucr.cjis.gov/ ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1995/95sec2.pdf ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/ |
| Property Crime Rate offenses per 100,000 people · 1976–2024 | Reported offenses per 100k. 2021 dip partly reflects the NIBRS reporting transition. Same sourcing and lineage seam as the violent-crime series: 1976-1990 CIUS 1995 Table 1, 1991-1999 CIUS 2010 Table 1 (UCR estimates); 2000+ are CDE reported rates. | cde.ucr.cjis.gov/ ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1995/95sec2.pdf ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/ |
| Homicide Rate offenses per 100,000 people · 2000–2025 | FBI CDE reported homicide offenses, monthly rates per 100,000 summed to an annual rate. Reported figures, not the retired UCR estimates, so the series starts at 2000 and carries the same 2021 NIBRS-transition caveat as the other crime rows. Partial years are excluded. | cde.ucr.cjis.gov/ |
| Imprisonment Rate sentenced prisoners per 100,000 residents · 1978–2023 | State and federal prisoners serving sentences of more than a year, per 100,000 US residents of all ages. Prisons only — local jails, which hold several hundred thousand more people, are counted separately by BJS. History from Prisoners in 2020 (Appendix Table 1), recent years from Prisoners in 2023 (Table 5); the overlapping years agree. | bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tabl bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2020-statistical-tabl |
Family & Society
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage Rate marriages per 1,000 population · 1970–2023 | CDC/NCHS NVSS national table, per 1,000 total US population. 2023 latest; table titled Provisional; 2013-14 exclude Georgia, 2006 excludes Louisiana. 1970-1999 from NCHS Health E-Stat 'Marriage Rates in the United States, 1900-2018' (Curtin & Sutton 2020); its 2000-2018 overlap matches the NVSS table exactly. | cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage-divorce.htm cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/marriage_rate_2018/marriage_rate_2018.p |
| Divorce Rate divorces per 1,000 population (reporting states) · 1970–2023 | CDC/NCHS NVSS. Rate is per 1,000 population of reporting areas only — California among others excluded most years (2017-2023 exclude CA, HI, IN, MN, NM). 2023 latest. 1970-1990 final rates from NCHS Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics 1989-90 (MVSR 43-9S Table 1, all states); 1991-1996 NCHS provisional annual rates (MVSR annual summaries; NCHS ceased final divorce statistics in 1996); 1997-1999 rates exclude CA, CO, IN, LA (46 reporting states + DC) — the same reporting-states lineage the 2000+ series continues. | cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage-divorce.htm stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/112483/cdc_112483_DS1.pdf cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/mv41_12.pdf cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/mv44_12.pdf cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/mv46_12.pdf cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr48/nvs48_19.pdf |
| Total Fertility Rate births per woman (total fertility rate) · 1970–2024 | NCHS TFR (stored per 1,000 women; 2,100 = replacement). 2010-2024 from Births: Final Data for 2024 (NVSR 75-2); 2000-2009 from Births: Final Data for 2015 revised rates; splice verified identical on 2010-2015 overlap. 2024 is final. 1970-1999 from Births: Final Data for 2015 (NVSR 66-1) Table 4, the census-revised TFR series spanning 1970-2015; its 2000 value matches the shipped series exactly, so the splice is a single lineage. | cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr75/nvsr75-02.pdf cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf |
| Births to Unmarried Mothers percent of all US births · 1940–2015 | Births to unmarried women (NCHS, all age groups summed) divided by total US births (NCHS births and general fertility rates). Both numerator and denominator are NCHS-published counts; the ratio is the only arithmetic. | data.cdc.gov/d/g6qk-ngsf |
| Population Growth percent per year · 1931–2025 | BEA/Census midyear US resident population, year-over-year percent change. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/B230RC0A052NBEA |
| Happiness Cantril ladder score (0-10) · 2006–2025 | World Happiness Report / Gallup World Poll, US single-year national average life evaluation by data year (not the 3-year ranking average). Series begins 2006; 2025 published in WHR 2026. 3-year means reproduce the published Figure 2.1 values exactly. | data.worldhappiness.report/country/USA |
Government & Democracy
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Trust in Government percent trusting the federal government · 1958–2025 | Percent saying they trust the federal government to do what is right just about always or most of the time. Pew's long series stitches its own surveys to ANES, Gallup, CBS/NYT, and others; years with no survey are absent rather than interpolated. Read from Pew's published series 2026-08-18; there is no machine-readable endpoint, so these values are checked in and re-verified on each data refresh. | pewresearch.org/politics/2024/06/24/public-trust-in-government-1 |
| Voter Turnout percent of voting-age population, presidential elections · 1964–2024 | Share of the voting-age population who told the Census they voted, presidential years only. Self-reported, so it runs several points above turnout counted from ballots; the trend, not the level, is the signal. The Census's citizen-only rate runs higher still but only exists from 1978, so this series uses the voting-age-population measure, which covers every election back to 1964. Midterms run structurally lower and are excluded. | census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/ |
| Federal Deficit percent of GDP (negative = deficit) · 1930–2025 | Federal surplus or deficit as a percent of GDP; negative values are deficits. | fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S |
Energy & Environment
| Series | Method & caveats | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| CO2 Emissions million metric tons per year · 1949–2025 | Total US energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, all fuels and all sectors. Energy emissions only — agriculture, industrial process, and land-use emissions are not counted. | eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/#environment |
| Renewable Share of Energy percent of total US energy consumption · 1949–2025 | Total renewable energy consumption divided by total primary energy consumption, both as published by EIA. Covers all energy use, not electricity alone, so it sits below the widely-quoted renewable share of the power grid. Includes hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. | eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/#renewable |
| US Average Temperature degrees Fahrenheit, annual mean · 1895–2025 | Contiguous US January–December average temperature, as published by NOAA in degrees Fahrenheit. The 48 contiguous states only; Alaska and Hawaii are separate NOAA regions. | ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/national/tim |
Corrections. Every number on this site traces to a linked primary document. If one is wrong, the fix is a data change, not a debate.