Open Ledger

The economy under
every president, in data.

19 indicators across 5 administrations. No editorial. No spin. Context where it matters. You interpret.

Key Insights
Clinton achieved budget surpluses — the only president in this dataset to do so, with 4 consecutive surplus years.
Inequality rose under every president — from 40.5% to 47.2% over 32 years, regardless of party.
Obama inherited the worst economy — 9.3% unemployment, yet improved it by 47% during his tenure.

All Metrics at a Glance

19 metrics across 5 presidents. Each cell shows % change from start to end of term. Hover to see trend. Click any row to explore.

Strong improvementModest improvementMaintainedModest declineStrong decline
Metric
Clinton
'93–'01
Bush W.
'01–'09
Obama
'09–'17
Trump
'17–'21
Biden
'21–'25
Growth
Real GDP
$T (2017$)
32%
$10.2T$13.5T
17%
$13.6T$15.9T
17%
$15.5T$18.1T
2%
$18.5T$18.9T
8%
$20.0T$21.5T
GDP Growth
Annual %
52%
2.7%4.1%
110%
1.0%-0.1%
165%
-2.6%1.7%
227%
2.2%-2.8%
53%
5.9%2.8%
Labor Market
Unemployment
Rate %
42%
6.9%4.0%
23%
4.7%5.8%
47%
9.3%4.9%
84%
4.4%8.1%
26%
5.4%4.0%
Labor Participation
Rate %
1%
66.3%67.1%
1%
66.8%66.0%
4%
65.4%62.8%
2%
62.9%61.7%
1%
61.7%62.5%
Jobs Added
Millions/yr
32%
+2.8M+1.9M
112%
-1.7M-3.6M
145%
-5.1M+2.3M
543%
+2.1M-9.3M
67%
+6.7M+2.2M
Manufacturing
Jobs (M)
3%
16.8M17.3M
18%
16.4M13.4M
4%
11.8M12.3M
2%
12.4M12.2M
4%
12.3M12.8M
Prices & Wages
Inflation
CPI %
13%
3.0%3.4%
36%
2.8%3.8%
425%
-0.4%1.3%
43%
2.1%1.2%
38%
4.7%2.9%
Gas Prices
$/gal
39%
$1.07$1.49
129%
$1.42$3.25
9%
$2.35$2.14
10%
$2.41$2.17
10%
$3.01$3.31
Real Wages
YoY %
200%
0.2%0.6%
225%
0.8%-1.0%
27%
1.5%1.1%
900%
0.4%4.0%
150%
-2.2%1.1%
Purchasing Power
Value of $1 (1993$)
16%
$1.00$0.84
17%
$0.81$0.67
10%
$0.67$0.60
5%
$0.59$0.56
13%
$0.53$0.46
Living Standards
Median Income
Household (2023$)
10%
$55.6K$61.4K
3%
$60.2K$58.6K
9%
$57.6K$62.9K
6%
$64.0K$68.0K
13%
$71.1K$80.6K
Poverty Rate
%
25%
15.1%11.3%
13%
11.7%13.2%
11%
14.3%12.7%
7%
12.3%11.4%
5%
11.6%12.2%
Inequality
Top 10% Share %
7%
40.5%43.5%
2%
42.5%43.4%
6%
43.2%45.8%
0%
46.1%46.0%
2%
46.5%47.2%
Fiscal Health
Debt-to-GDP
Ratio %
16%
63.8%53.7%
25%
54.7%68.2%
27%
82.4%104.8%
23%
103.6%127.0%
2%
121.7%124.0%
Budget Deficit
$Billions
193%
$255B$236B
459%
$128B$459B
59%
$1,413B$585B
371%
$665B$3,132B
34%
$2,772B$1,833B
Trade Balance
$Billions
444%
$70B$381B
94%
$365B$709B
31%
$384B$504B
23%
$552B$679B
8%
$862B$795B
Interest Rate
Fed Funds %
117%
3.0%6.5%
51%
3.9%1.9%
100%
0.2%0.4%
60%
1.0%0.4%
4500%
0.1%4.6%
Markets
S&P 500
Year-End
183%
4661,320
21%
1,148903
101%
1,1152,239
40%
2,6743,756
23%
4,7665,881
Sentiment
Confidence
Index (1985=100)
110%
68143
45%
10658
122%
45100
16%
120101
12%
113100
Summary — Metrics Improved vs Declined
Clinton
107
Bush W.
214
Obama
107
Trump
78
Biden
87
Open Ledger

Built for transparency, not persuasion. Every data point is sourced from official government agencies and can be independently verified.

Data Sources
BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) · BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) · U.S. Treasury · CBO (Congressional Budget Office) · EIA (Energy Information Administration) · Census Bureau · Conference Board · S&P Global · World Bank · IMF · World Inequality Database
v7.0 — Last updated April 2026