U.S. real GDP grew 2.3% in 2025, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ September 2026 annual update. The other annual growth rates in the latest five-year series were 6.3% in 2021, 2.4% in 2022, 2.9% in 2023 and 3.0% in 2024. For context, CPI inflation was 2.7% over the 12 months ending December 2025, and the unemployment rate was 4.4% in December. These figures cover different measures and periods, so they should not be read as three matching annual averages.
What is the U.S. real GDP growth rate by year?
BEA’s September 2026 annual update reports the following changes in real GDP from one annual level to the next:
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| Year | Annual real GDP growth |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 6.3% |
| 2022 | 2.4% |
| 2023 | 2.9% |
| 2024 | 3.0% |
| 2025 | 2.3% |
These are annual percent changes, not quarterly growth rates converted to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). The series is the latest annual vintage verified here, published in BEA’s 2026 annual update.
What does real GDP growth measure?
GDP measures the value of final goods and services produced within the United States. Its expenditure components include personal consumption, private investment, net exports, and government consumption and investment. Real GDP adjusts for price changes so output can be compared across time; it is not the same as nominal GDP, which does not remove inflation’s effects. BEA explains the distinction in its GDP overview and GDP glossary.
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An annual change compares the average annual level in one year with the prior year’s level. A quarterly SAAR figure instead takes a single quarter’s change and expresses it as if that pace continued for a full year. The two answer different questions and should not be combined in an unlabeled comparison.
What was the inflation rate in the U.S. in 2025?
Using the household-facing Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all-items prices rose 2.7% from December 2024 to December 2025. CPI-U excluding food and energy rose 2.6% over the same 12-month period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January 2026 CPI release.
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Those are December-to-December changes, not changes in the calendar-year average CPI. “Inflation” can also refer to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, a separate measure used by BEA. CPI and PCE results are not interchangeable; any comparison should identify the index, period, and whether it is headline or excludes food and energy.
What was the unemployment rate in 2025?
The unemployment rate was 4.4% in December 2025, according to the BLS household survey. That is a month-specific, year-end reading—not the annual average. BLS’s 2025 annual household-survey estimates use 11-month averages that exclude October, when a lapse in federal appropriations interrupted data collection. BLS cautions that these estimates are not strictly comparable with annual averages for other years; see its January 2026 employment situation release.
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Why do GDP numbers get revised?
GDP estimates are updated as BEA receives more complete source data. For quarterly GDP, BEA publishes advance, second, and third estimates; later annual updates can also revise annual figures. For example, BEA’s April 2026 third estimate put 2025 annual real GDP growth at 2.1%, while its September 2026 annual update revised it to 2.3%. The September figure is the later vintage and is used in the table above. BEA describes its estimate schedule and methods in its GDP overview and the April 2026 third-estimate release.
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