US GDP history · 2020
US GDP in 2020
In 2020, the US economy was worth about $21.06T and real output shrank 2.16% — a contraction — among the weakest of the 64 years on record. Here's where that sits in 65 years of data, the story behind it, how big the economy was versus the $28.75T of 2024, and how it compares.
- 2020 GDP $21.06T nominal output
- Real growth -2.16% year over year — a contraction
- GDP per capita $63,516 output per person
- vs today $28.75T in 2024
The economy in 2020
In 2020, the economy shrank 2.16% in real terms, leaving total output at about $21.06T. That made it a contraction — among the weakest of the 64 years on record, and below the long-run average of 3.02%. The economy has grown to $28.75T by 2024 — roughly 1.4× its 2020 size in nominal terms. Spread across the population, output worked out to about $63,516 per person, against $84,534 today.
What happened in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp contraction as the economy shut down.
Real GDP the economy shrank 2.16% in 2020, down from 2.58% in 2019. That made it a contraction — among the weakest of the 64 years on record — a year the economy lost ground — and below the long-run average of 3.02%.
How 2020 compared
Across the full 1960–2024 record, real growth has averaged about 3.02%, so 2020 ran below that long-run norm. Within the 2020s, growth averaged roughly 2.42%, and 2020 sat below its own decade. Five years earlier, in 2015, the economy grew 2.95%. The following year, 2021, growth accelerated to 6.06%.
Output and jobs move together: when GDP stalls, recessions show up in jobs too. See what unemployment did in 2020 for the labor-market side of the same story.
Growth and prices are two sides of the same economy. See what inflation did in 2020 to round out the picture.
This is one year out of the whole story. For the complete history — every year since 1960, the fastest year and the deepest contraction, the decade-by-decade view, and what drives growth over time — see historical US GDP, 1960–today.
US GDP in 2020 — FAQ
What was US GDP in 2020?
US nominal GDP was about $21.06T in 2020 ($21,060,473,613,000). Real output the economy shrank 2.16% over the year, and GDP per capita was about $63,516.
Did the US economy grow or shrink in 2020?
It shrank: real GDP fell 2.16% in 2020 — a contraction — among the weakest of the 64 years on record, below the long-run average of 3.02%. That was down 4.74 points from 2.58% the year before.
What was US GDP per capita in 2020?
GDP per capita — total output divided by population — was about $63,516 in 2020, versus $84,534 in 2024.
How does 2020 GDP compare to today?
The US economy was worth about $21.06T in 2020, against $28.75T in 2024 — roughly 1.4× larger today in nominal terms.
Why did the economy contracted the way it did in 2020?
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp contraction as the economy shut down.
