Before President Joe Biden’s March 7, 2024 State of the Union address, USAFacts published a data overview of the country’s finances, economy, public safety, immigration and other issues. Its figures offered historical context—not a real-time scorecard or a fact-check of the president’s claims. Many measures came from different years and use different definitions, so they should not be read as if they describe one moment in time.
What USAFacts published before Biden’s 2024 address
GeekWire reported on March 6, 2024, that USAFacts had released its annual “State of the Union In Numbers” ahead of Biden’s address the following day. The report was designed to assemble government data across major policy topics and provide a common factual starting point for public discussion.
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USAFacts was founded in 2017 by Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO. GeekWire said the organization drew on more than 70 government sources and was publishing its State of the Union analysis for the fifth year. Ballmer framed the project’s aim in USAFacts’ 2020 launch announcement: “But the state of the union can be measured in numbers.”
What the 2024 figures said—and which years they covered
The statistics below are figures from USAFacts as summarized by GeekWire; they do not all share the same reporting period.
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| Measure | Figure in the 2024 report | Period and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Average hourly earnings | Up 4%; less than 1% after inflation | December 2023 compared with December 2022. The smaller figure reflects the inflation-adjusted change. |
| People turned away or apprehended at U.S. borders | 3.2 million | Fiscal year 2023; reported as the highest level since at least 1980. This is a count of encounters, not necessarily unique individuals. |
| U.S. population | 334.9 million | 2023 estimate. |
| Fentanyl-involved overdose deaths | 74,127 | 2022. |
| Violent crime rate | 380.7 per 100,000 people | 2022. |
| Property crime rate | 1,954.4 per 100,000 people, up 6.7% | 2022 rate and change as reported by GeekWire. |
These figures come from the report’s broad overview, not a single synchronized dataset. For example, the earnings comparison is a year-over-year monthly measure, while the border count is for a federal fiscal year. A border encounter count should not be interpreted as a count of distinct people without checking the underlying series and definition.
How to interpret the report’s scope and limits
It provides context, not a presidential fact-check
USAFacts describes its annual overview as a way to give readers historical context and broad coverage, rather than to fact-check the president. That distinction matters: the report can help readers locate relevant indicators, but it does not by itself establish whether a policy claim is accurate, what caused a trend, or whether a particular policy succeeded.
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The figures have different update schedules
Some of the 2024 article’s figures were already historical when published. The population estimate was for 2023, while the fentanyl death count was for 2022. GeekWire also noted that 2022 life-expectancy data were provisional and that fiscal year 2022 was the latest available year for removals in that report. A newer publication date does not make every figure current to that date.
A high-level overview cannot include every nuance
USAFacts says its authors must balance breadth against depth: one report cannot include every dataset, definition or qualification. The organization’s 2026 explanation says it reviewed 40 past State of the Union addresses to identify recurring themes. Readers using an indicator to evaluate a specific claim should follow the category source and check the underlying federal dataset, including its definitions, reference period and whether values are provisional or revised.
How the 2024 report differs from the current edition
The 2024 figures describe the snapshot published before Biden’s address; they are not a current assessment of the United States. As of October 2026, USAFacts has a 2026 State of the Union: In Numbers edition covering budget, the economy, standard of living, education, immigration and defense. Its report page says federal revenue and spending both increased in fiscal year 2025, with spending exceeding revenue. Use the 2026 edition for its newer coverage, while checking the reference year for each individual measure rather than assuming every statistic is from 2026.
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