US GDP history · 2021
US GDP in 2021
In 2021, the US economy was worth about $23.32T and real output grew 6.06% — the 5th-fastest 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.
- 2021 GDP $23.32T nominal output
- Real growth 6.06% year over year
- GDP per capita $70,205 output per person
- vs today $28.75T in 2024
The economy in 2021
In 2021, the economy grew 6.06% in real terms, leaving total output at about $23.32T. That made it the 5th-fastest of the 64 years on record, and above the long-run average of 3.02%. The economy has grown to $28.75T by 2024 — roughly 1.2× its 2021 size in nominal terms. Spread across the population, output worked out to about $70,205 per person, against $84,534 today.
What happened in 2021
The economy rebounded strongly as it reopened from the pandemic.
Real GDP the economy grew 6.06% in 2021, up from -2.16% in 2020. That made it the 5th-fastest of the 64 years on record — a year of expansion — and above the long-run average of 3.02%.
How 2021 compared
Across the full 1960–2024 record, real growth has averaged about 3.02%, so 2021 ran above that long-run norm. Within the 2020s, growth averaged roughly 2.42%, and 2021 sat above its own decade. Five years earlier, in 2016, the economy grew 1.82%. The following year, 2022, growth slowed to 2.51%.
Output and jobs move together: when GDP stalls, recessions show up in jobs too. See what unemployment did in 2021 for the labor-market side of the same story.
Growth and prices are two sides of the same economy. See what inflation did in 2021 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 2021 — FAQ
What was US GDP in 2021?
US nominal GDP was about $23.32T in 2021 ($23,315,080,560,000). Real output the economy grew 6.06% over the year, and GDP per capita was about $70,205.
Did the US economy grow or shrink in 2021?
It grew: real GDP rose 6.06% in 2021 — the 5th-fastest of the 64 years on record, above the long-run average of 3.02%. That was up 8.22 points from -2.16% the year before.
What was US GDP per capita in 2021?
GDP per capita — total output divided by population — was about $70,205 in 2021, versus $84,534 in 2024.
How does 2021 GDP compare to today?
The US economy was worth about $23.32T in 2021, against $28.75T in 2024 — roughly 1.2× larger today in nominal terms.
Why did the economy grew the way it did in 2021?
The economy rebounded strongly as it reopened from the pandemic.
