Whether It’s Work, Wealth, or Wages: You ARE Better Off Today

Are you better off than you were four years ago? That’s a classic election year question. And while we are undoubtedly better off than we were in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people still think the economy under President Donald Trump was better.

We looked at 10 objective measures in the areas of wealth, work, and wages and made the fairest comparisons possible. In instances where the pandemic might have caused a shock to the downside (like employment), we focused on the best months or last months so as not to skew the results. To account for inflation, we used real dollar comparisons where appropriate.

We found that Americans are wealthier today, working more today, earning more today, more likely to be insured today than under the very best days of Donald Trump.

There is a paradox in public opinion surveys about the economy—people believe they and their community are doing well but not the nation as a whole. This deck does not explain why people’s views on the national economy are negative, but it does lend insight on why they feel they are doing well. It is because, on average, they are.  

Note: the stock market chart was updated to reflect new data as of July 16 2024.