The State of the Union in numbers
USAFacts has a great reference
Just in time for Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, see the Gallup poll results above, and you’ll find a useful summary from USAFacts here.
You’ll find a few data points from the USAFacts publication below, but if you want more context and information please read the report.
Economy
US Gross Domestic Product increased 2.1% in 2022 after increasing 5.9% in 2021.
The unemployment rate was 4.0% at the beginning of 2022 and ended the year at 3.5%.
Standard of living
The net worth of the middle class averaged $10.3 trillion, or about $393,000 per household, in the first three quarters of 2022.
Total federal government assistance to individuals decreased 38.6% in fiscal year 2022 but was 42.2% higher than in FY 2019.
Health
Preliminary 2021 data shows that life expectancy decreased for the second consecutive year to 76.1 years.
The federal government spent $173.3 billion on public health in 2022 — 13.6% more than 2021 but 10.7% less than during the first year of the pandemic.
Last year, 22 states restricted abortion access while 19 protected it.
Population
The fertility rate increased to 56.6 births per 1,000 women in 2021 — the first increase since 2014, but still lower than any other year except 2020.
Single adults without kids comprised 29% of all US households in 2022, up from 13% in 1960.
Budget
The federal government collected $5.0 trillion in revenue in fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022) — or $15,098 per person.
The federal government spent $6.5 trillion in FY 2022 — or $19,434 per person — including funds distributed to states.
Education
Eighth-grade math and reading proficiency fell more between 2019 and 2022 than any other period for which data is available.
On average, people with no more than a bachelor’s degree earned $1,432 per week in 2022, roughly 68% more than workers with no more than a high school diploma.
Crime and justice
Violent crime fell by 1.7% in 2021 after growing by 4.6% in 2020. Property crime fell for the second year in a row in 2021 by 4.5%.
Increased firearm suicides and homicides drove the nation's firearm death rate from 13.7 to 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people between 2020 and 2021.
Infrastructure
About 39% of 2022 federal transportation and infrastructure spending was for highway transportation and 28% was for rail and mass transit. The rest was for air travel (22%) and water (9%).
Nearly all homes can access the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) national minimum broadband speeds standards of 25 megabits per second (mbps) for downloads and 3 mbps for uploads.
Environment
After falling in 2021, global temperatures rose in 2022 and were higher than any recorded year prior to 2015.
The average American generated 4.9 pounds of trash per day in 2018.
Energy
The US exported about 30% more energy than it imported in 2022.
Nuclear energy production, the nation’s leading non-fossil fuel energy source since 1984, has remained flat for two decades. Solar and wind energy are growing.
Immigration
Immigration to the US rose in FY 2021 after a drop in 2020.
Foreign-born people are more likely to be in the labor force and in a married-couple family than people born in the US.
The number of immigrants turned away or apprehended at borders reached 2.8 million in FY 2022, the highest number since at least 1980.
Defense
Defense spending decreased 5.3% in 2022 and was 16.7% lower than its 2010 peak.
There were 1.3 million active-duty military in 2022, 39% fewer than in 1987 — its recent peak.
Federal Government actions
Federal actions frequently addressed defense, and more than a third of defense-related actions were responses to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The economy and health were the second-and third- most frequently addressed topics in Biden’s executive orders or presidential memoranda.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Karl Pearson