Biden in numbers
Joe Biden 2021–2025
Data updated 9 October 2026.
Every number this site has for this term, measured the same way as for every other term. The table comes first. Each topic follows with this term’s own numbers.
Every measure for this term
One row for each measure, in the order of the topics below. Under each row, the value of each year.
| Measure | Period counted | Start | End | On the chart | Term before: Trump 1 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment ratechange in points; values in % of the labor force | Jan 2021 to Jan 2025 | 6.4% | 4.0% | −2.4 | +1.7Jan 2017 to Jan 2021 | US Bureau of Labor Statistics (Current Population Survey) |
| Year by yearJan 2021 6.4%Jan 2022 4.0%Jan 2023 3.5%Jan 2024 3.7%Jan 2025 4.0% | ||||||
| Grocery pricesaverage rise a year, in % | Jan 2021 to Jan 2025 | Does not apply | Does not apply | +5.4% | +1.5%Jan 2017 to Jan 2021 | US Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI-U) |
| Year by yearJan 2021 to Jan 2022 +7.4%Jan 2022 to Jan 2023 +11.3%Jan 2023 to Jan 2024 +1.2%Jan 2024 to Jan 2025 +1.9% | ||||||
| Consumer prices (inflation)average rise a year, in % | Jan 2021 to Jan 2025 | Does not apply | Does not apply | +5.0% | +1.9%Jan 2017 to Jan 2021 | US Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI-U) |
| Year by yearJan 2021 to Jan 2022 +7.5%Jan 2022 to Jan 2023 +6.4%Jan 2023 to Jan 2024 +3.1%Jan 2024 to Jan 2025 +3.0% | ||||||
| Poverty ratechange in points; values in % of people | 2020 to 2024 | 11.5% | 10.7% | −0.8 | −0.4then−0.82016 to 2017then2017 to 2020 | US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) |
| Year by year2020 11.5%2021 11.6%2022 11.5%2023 11.1%2024 10.7% | ||||||
| Homes short of foodchange in points; values in % of homes | 2020 to 2024 | 10.5% | 13.7% | +3.2 | −1.82016 to 2020 | USDA Economic Research Service (data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement) |
| Year by year2020 10.5%2021 10.2%2022 12.8%2023 13.5%2024 13.7% | ||||||
| Homicide ratechange in deaths per 100,000 residents (crude rate) | 2020 to 2024 | 7.5 | 5.9 | −1.6 | +1.52016 to 2020 | CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System, served by CDC WONDER (Underlying Cause of Death, 2018-2024, single race, database D158) |
| Year by year2020 7.52021 7.82022 7.52023 6.82024 5.9 | ||||||
| Growth against the G7points a year; each year: US growth per person, in % | 2020 to 2024 | Does not apply | Does not apply | +0.70 | +1.662016 to 2020 | World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.PCAP.KD); sources include OECD national accounts |
| Year by year2021 +6.0%2022 +1.9%2023 +2.1%2024 +1.8% | ||||||
| Federal deficit or surplusaverage a year, in % of GDP; a minus is a deficit | FY2020 to FY2024 | −14.5% | −6.3% | −7.5% | −6.6%FY2016 to FY2020 | Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Historical Tables |
| Year by yearFY2020 −14.5%FY2021 −12.0%FY2022 −5.4%FY2023 −6.2%FY2024 −6.3% | ||||||
| Debt held by the publicchange in points of GDP; values in % of GDP | FY2020 to FY2024 | 98.5% | 97.4% | −1.1 | +22.5FY2016 to FY2020 | Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Historical Tables |
| Year by yearFY2020 98.5%FY2021 96.7%FY2022 94.9%FY2023 95.8%FY2024 97.4% | ||||||
| Uninsured ratechange in points; values in % of people under 65 | 2020 to 2024 | 11.5% | 9.9% | −1.6 | +0.7then−0.52016 to 2018then2019 to 2020 | CDC/NCHS, National Health Interview Survey (Long-term Trends in Health Insurance Coverage, 1968-2024, Table 1) |
| Year by year2020 11.5%2021 10.3%2022 10.2%2023 8.9%2024 9.9% | ||||||
| Border Patrol stops at the Mexico bordercount each fiscal year | FY2021 to FY2024 | Each year, below | Each year, below | Each year, below | Each year, below | US Customs and Border Protection, Southwest Land Border Encounters (Border Patrol) |
| Year by yearFY2021 1,659,206 (618,986 under immigration law)FY2022 2,206,436 (1,152,352 under immigration law)FY2023 2,045,838 (1,496,067 under immigration law)FY2024 1,530,523 | ||||||
On the chart is the number each topic’s chart shows for the term; the unit under each measure says what kind of number it is. Start and end are the first and last values a change counts. The column for the term before shows that term’s own number and its period.
Download this term’s data (CSV)Every row the table reads, from the first period to the last, as each agency publishes it.
Did unemployment go up or down?
Biden: from 6.4% in Jan 2021 to 4.0% in Jan 2025 is a change of −2.4.
How fast did grocery prices rise?
Biden: from Jan 2021 to Jan 2025, grocery prices (food bought in stores to eat at home) rose 23.3% in all, which is 5.4% a year.
How fast did consumer prices rise?
Biden: consumer prices rose 21.4% from Jan 2021 to Jan 2025, an average of 5.0% a year.
Did poverty and hunger go up or down?
Biden, people in poverty: from 11.5% in 2020 to 10.7% in 2024 is a change of −0.8.
Did the homicide rate go up or down?
Biden: from 7.5 in 2020 to 5.9 in 2024 is a change of −1.6.
Did the US grow faster than other G7 countries?
In the Biden term, from 2020 to 2024, US growth was +2.94% a year and the G7 median was +2.24%, so the bar is +0.70 points.
See every term: Did the US grow faster than other G7 countries?
What came from outside the US?
Biden, from 2020 to 2024: growth outside the US averaged +4.0% a year, +17.0% in all. Export prices moved +1.8% a year against import prices, +7.6% in all.
How much did the federal government borrow?
Biden, top chart: its budget years, Oct 2020 to Sep 2024, averaged a deficit of 7.5% of GDP a year. Bottom chart: its debt went from 98.5% to 97.4% of GDP, a change of −1.1 points.
Did the uninsured rate go up or down?
Biden: from 11.5% in 2020 to 9.9% in 2024 is a change of −1.6 points.
How many people did the Border Patrol stop at the Mexico border each year?
The bars of Biden, from left to right: 1,659,206 in FY2021; 2,206,436 in FY2022; 2,045,838 in FY2023; 1,530,523 in FY2024.
See every term: How many people did the Border Patrol stop at the Mexico border each year?
How we measured this term
- Term dates: 20 January 2021 to 19 January 2025.
- Monthly measures count: Jan 2021 to Jan 2025.
- Yearly measures count: 2020 to 2024.
- Budget and border measures count federal fiscal years, October to September: FY2020 to FY2024 (Federal deficit or surplus, Debt held by the public); FY2021 to FY2024 (Border Patrol stops at the Mexico border).
- Measures where the agency changed its method during the term: none.
- Measures with no number for this term: none.
- Measures that count only part of the term: none.
What came from outside
Numbers about the world this term faced. They give context for the term’s own numbers.
- Recession months inside the term, by NBER’s dates: None.
- How fast the world outside the US grew: +4.0% a year (2021 to 2024).
- US export prices against import prices: +1.8% a year (2020 to 2024).
Every term has the same facts, from the same sources. All terms side by side: What came from outside the US?
These numbers show what happened during each term. Congress, the courts, the states, the Federal Reserve and events abroad also move them.