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COVID-19 & Health As of April 27, 32 million Americans, or 10% of the population, had tested positive for COVID-19. As of April 27, over half a million Americans had died from COVID-19. That's 0.2% of the population. As of April 27, 97 million Americans had been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Personal healthcare spending reached $3.2 trillion in 2019, or $9,770 per capita. The percentage of uninsured Americans decreased to 8% in 2019, near the 2017 low of 7.9%. Preliminary data shows that 3.4 million people died in 2020, 20% more than in 2019, with the top three causes — heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19 — accounting for half of deaths. State and local governments are primarily responsible for public health, spending $96 billion on it in 2018 — excluding federal grants.
Economy GDP decreased 3.5% in 2020, the lowest growth rate since 1946. The average annual unemployment rate in 2020 was 8.1%, lower than the annual averages during the Great Recession in 2009 (9.3%), 2010 (9.6%), and 2011 (8.9%). Nearly 25 million Americans were on unemployment insurance in May, the highest point during the pandemic. The economy lost 9.4 million jobs in 2020, a 6.2% decrease from 2019. That’s larger than the 3.7% drop from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. At the end of 2020, 74% of small businesses reported experiencing negative effects from COVID-19, and 73% of small businesses reported receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Prior to the pandemic, median wages increased 1.2% from 2018 to 2019. The US imported $679 billion more in goods and services than it exported in 2020, an 18% increase in the trade deficit from 2019.
Standard of Living In December, 38% of all households — 90 million nationwide — reported difficulty paying for usual expenses. Nine and a half percent of US adults faced housing insecurity in December. Half of households lost employment income during the pandemic. However, because of increased government support like unemployment insurance and other aid, personal income rose in aggregate nationwide in 2020. Occupations with median wages below the national median lost 8% of their jobs in 2020. Occupations above the median wage lost 3%. Before the pandemic, middle-class families (the middle 20% of income earners) averaged $49,000 in market income from sources including wages, investments, and retirement. Prior to the pandemic, the poverty rate decreased from 15% in 2010 to 10.5% in 2019, the lowest it had been since 1980. The wealth of the middle 20% of income earners has grown 66% since 1990.
Population In 2020, 331 million people lived in the United States. The population grew by 1.2 million from 2019 to 2020, with 41% of growth from immigration. According to preliminary data, the 2020 death rate was the highest since 1943. The population is getting older. More people are living alone. The absolute number of non-Hispanic white people has decreased every year since 2017.
Budget The federal government collected $3.5 trillion in revenue in fiscal year 2020 — or $10,457 per person. The federal government spent $6.6 trillion in fiscal year 2020 — or $19,962 per person. The federal government made $2.6 trillion in funds available to respond to COVID-19 and spent $1.6 trillion of that in fiscal year 2020. Federal revenue decreased 3% in fiscal year 2020. Federal spending grew 45% in fiscal year 2020. The nation spent 91% more than it collected in revenue, creating a $3.1 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2020.
Education In December, over half of people with K-12 students reported their kids spent less time learning compared to before the pandemic. About 59 million adults lived with someone who planned to attend college in fall 2020, with over a third of them reporting that the student ultimately canceled their plans. Between 2000 and 2017, K-12 spending per public school student increased 24% to $12,794. Two-thirds of eighth graders are not proficient in math and reading. The average college tuition was $23,902 in 2016, an increase of over 80% since 1993 (adjusting for inflation). Wages for people with a bachelor’s degree have increased 5% since 2000. Eighty-five percent of students graduate from high school, and 70% of recent high school graduates enroll in college within a year of graduating from high school. More than a third of the overall adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, but only 25% of Black Americans and 19% of Hispanic Americans do.​
Crime & Justice Over 6.4 million Americans were in prison, jail, or under probation or parole when counted in 2018, though an estimated 10.7 million people were admitted to jail throughout the year. The total prison population decreased 11% between the 2009 peak and 2019, with decreases in federal, California, and New York state prison populations accounting for 45% of the decline. Fifty-seven percent of the decline in prison population between 2009 and 2018 was due to fewer prisoners whose most serious offense was a drug crime. Arrests have decreased every year since 2006. Reported property and violent crime rates were down 50% in 2019 compared to their 1991 peaks. The number of police officers per capita fell 9% between its 2008 peak and 2019. Firearm deaths increased 18% from 2014 to 2018, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths in that time.
Environment & Energy 2020 was the second-warmest year on record. Last year, there were 22 natural disasters that cost over $1 billion each, six more than any year recorded. 2020 was the second-worst year for wildfires on recent record, with over 10 million acres burned. US energy production fell by 5% in 2020. Energy consumption per person fell 7.6% in 2020, the greatest decrease in recorded data. Fossil fuels account for 79% of US energy consumption. The share of energy consumption from nuclear and renewable sources has doubled since 1980 to 21% in 2020. In 2019, the US became a net exporter of energy for the first time since 1952. The US emits fewer greenhouse gases per person than in 1990, but still emits 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per person. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions were 11% lower in 2020 than 2019, partly due to pandemic travel restrictions.
Infrastructure Nearly 40% of 2020 federal transportation spending was for air transportation, driven in part by stimulus spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most infrastructure spending comes directly from state and local governments, which spent $169 billion on projects in 2018, excluding federal transfers. Public transit ridership was down 47% from 2019 to 2020. Car travel was down 13% from 2019 to 2020. Bridges are improving. Urban roads and interstates are improving. Train infrastructure is degrading.
Immigration Excluding tourism and unauthorized arrivals, most people who come to the US on visas or green cards are temporary workers, students, or coming to be with their families. The number of non-tourist visas granted and refugees and asylees admitted rose from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, the federal government estimated there were 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants in the country. Border apprehensions fell by more than half from 2019 to 2020. Immigration officials removed 360,000 people from the US in 2019. The US is again increasingly a nation of immigrants.
Defense Defense spending increased in 2020 but was 11% lower than its 2010 peak. The military is the largest it has been since 2012 but is still smaller than it was in 1980. The US has fewer troops abroad, particularly in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Nearly 84,000 National Guard soldiers were on duty on June 2, equal to half the number of active-duty troops abroad and one-fifth of available National Guard members. Foreign aid (adjusted for inflation) has declined each year since 2015, and makes up less than 1% of the federal budget. Veterans have higher levels of employment, lower rates of poverty, and higher rates of disability than the overall population.
Federal Government Actions There were 24 actions about health. There were 33 actions about the economy and jobs. There were 18 actions about standard of living. There was one action on population. There were 16 actions on the budget. There were two actions on education. There were 20 actions on crime and justice. There were 46 actions on land, energy, and the environment. There were nine actions on infrastructure. There were six actions on immigration. There were 82 actions on defense. There were 76 other kinds of actions.
Home / Reports / 2021 State of the Union

In Numbers

A data-driven, nonpartisan snapshot

of the state of our union

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USAFacts State of the Union - In Numbers

The Issues

Article II  of the US Constitution requires that the president address Congress on the "state of the union," including a budget report and legislative proposals*.  USAFacts analyzed decades of State of the Union addresses to find the most-covered issues; here are the numbers behind those popular topics. ​

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This year's State of the Union is unique, both because of the new administration and because it is the first since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic's full impact on the nation is not yet clear, both because it is ongoing and because not all 2020 data is available as of this publication. Some of its effects will be apparent in this report, and some will not. Still, these historical metrics provide perspective. Americans can use them to determine if the nation is on the right or wrong track for any given issue.​ Watch a video from the USAFacts team on how this 2021 edition came together.

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*While presidents address Congress in February in their first year in office, the speech is not an official State of the Union address. Much of the function remains the same.

COVID-19 & Health

How has COVID-19 impacted Americans' health, and what is the state of the healthcare system?

As of April 27, 32 million Americans, or 10% of the population, had tested positive for COVID-19. As of April 27, over half a million Americans had died from COVID-19. That's 0.2% of the population. As of April 27, 97 million Americans had been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Personal healthcare spending reached $3.2 trillion in 2019, or $9,770 per capita. The percentage of uninsured Americans decreased to 8% in 2019, near the 2017 low of 7.9%. Preliminary data shows that 3.4 million people died in 2020, 20% more than in 2019, with the top three causes — heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19 — accounting for half of deaths. State and local governments are primarily responsible for public health, spending $96 billion on it in 2018 — excluding federal grants.
State of COVID-19 & Health

Economy

How is the US economy doing compared to pre-pandemic levels?

GDP decreased 3.5% in 2020, the lowest growth rate since 1946. The average annual unemployment rate in 2020 was 8.1%, lower than the annual averages during the Great Recession in 2009 (9.3%), 2010 (9.6%), and 2011 (8.9%). Nearly 25 million Americans were on unemployment insurance in May, the highest point during the pandemic. The economy lost 9.4 million jobs in 2020, a 6.2% decrease from 2019. That’s larger than the 3.7% drop from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. At the end of 2020, 74% of small businesses reported experiencing negative effects from COVID-19, and 73% of small businesses reported receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Prior to the pandemic, median wages increased 1.2% from 2018 to 2019. The US imported $679 billion more in goods and services than it exported in 2020, an 18% increase in the trade deficit from 2019.
State of our economy

Standard of Living

How has the standard of living for Americans changed?

In December, 38% of all households — 90 million nationwide — reported difficulty paying for usual expenses. Nine and a half percent of US adults faced housing insecurity in December. Half of households lost employment income during the pandemic. However, because of increased government support like unemployment insurance and other aid, personal income rose in aggregate nationwide in 2020. Occupations with median wages below the national median lost 8% of their jobs in 2020. Occupations above the median wage lost 3%. Before the pandemic, middle-class families (the middle 20% of income earners) averaged $49,000 in market income from sources including wages, investments, and retirement. Prior to the pandemic, the poverty rate decreased from 15% in 2010 to 10.5% in 2019, the lowest it had been since 1980. The wealth of the middle 20% of income earners has grown 66% since 1990.
State of our standard of living

Population

How is the population changing and growing?​

In 2020, 331 million people lived in the United States. The population grew by 1.2 million from 2019 to 2020, with 41% of growth from immigration. According to preliminary data, the 2020 death rate was the highest since 1943. The population is getting older. More people are living alone. The absolute number of non-Hispanic white people has decreased every year since 2017.
State of population

Budget

How much does the government spend and where does the money go?​ How does this affect the national debt?

The federal government collected $3.5 trillion in revenue in fiscal year 2020 — or $10,457 per person. The federal government spent $6.6 trillion in fiscal year 2020 — or $19,962 per person. The federal government made $2.6 trillion in funds available to respond to COVID-19 and spent $1.6 trillion of that in fiscal year 2020. Federal revenue decreased 3% in fiscal year 2020. Federal spending grew 45% in fiscal year 2020. The nation spent 91% more than it collected in revenue, creating a $3.1 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2020.
State of our budget

Education

How well is the government educating students? How much did COVID-19 disrupt schooling?​

Explore more on education in the US

In December, over half of people with K-12 students reported their kids spent less time learning compared to before the pandemic. About 59 million adults lived with someone who planned to attend college in fall 2020, with over a third of them reporting that the student ultimately canceled their plans. Between 2000 and 2017, K-12 spending per public school student increased 24% to $12,794. Two-thirds of eighth graders are not proficient in math and reading. The average college tuition was $23,902 in 2016, an increase of over 80% since 1993 (adjusting for inflation). Wages for people with a bachelor’s degree have increased 5% since 2000. Eighty-five percent of students graduate from high school, and 70% of recent high school graduates enroll in college within a year of graduating from high school. More than a third of the overall adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, but only 25% of Black Americans and 19% of Hispanic Americans do.​
State of education

Crime & Justice

Is the criminal justice system working? Is the country getting safer?

Over 6.4 million Americans were in prison, jail, or under probation or parole when counted in 2018, though an estimated 10.7 million people were admitted to jail throughout the year. The total prison population decreased 11% between the 2009 peak and 2019, with decreases in federal, California, and New York state prison populations accounting for 45% of the decline. Fifty-seven percent of the decline in prison population between 2009 and 2018 was due to fewer prisoners whose most serious offense was a drug crime. Arrests have decreased every year since 2006. Reported property and violent crime rates were down 50% in 2019 compared to their 1991 peaks. The number of police officers per capita fell 9% between its 2008 peak and 2019. Firearm deaths increased 18% from 2014 to 2018, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths in that time.
State of crime & justice

Environment & Energy

What environmental challenges does the US face?​ What are the country's major energy sources?

2020 was the second-warmest year on record. Last year, there were 22 natural disasters that cost over $1 billion each, six more than any year recorded. 2020 was the second-worst year for wildfires on recent record, with over 10 million acres burned. US energy production fell by 5% in 2020. Energy consumption per person fell 7.6% in 2020, the greatest decrease in recorded data. Fossil fuels account for 79% of US energy consumption. The share of energy consumption from nuclear and renewable sources has doubled since 1980 to 21% in 2020. In 2019, the US became a net exporter of energy for the first time since 1952. The US emits fewer greenhouse gases per person than in 1990, but still emits 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per person. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions were 11% lower in 2020 than 2019, partly due to pandemic travel restrictions.
State of environment & energy

Infrastructure

What does America spend on transportation and infrastructure? Is transportation infrastructure improving?​

Nearly 40% of 2020 federal transportation spending was for air transportation, driven in part by stimulus spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most infrastructure spending comes directly from state and local governments, which spent $169 billion on projects in 2018, excluding federal transfers. Public transit ridership was down 47% from 2019 to 2020. Car travel was down 13% from 2019 to 2020. Bridges are improving. Urban roads and interstates are improving. Train infrastructure is degrading.
State of infrastructure

Immigration

How many people are coming to the US and who is immigrating to the US today?​

Excluding tourism and unauthorized arrivals, most people who come to the US on visas or green cards are temporary workers, students, or coming to be with their families. The number of non-tourist visas granted and refugees and asylees admitted rose from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, the federal government estimated there were 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants in the country. Border apprehensions fell by more than half from 2019 to 2020. Immigration officials removed 360,000 people from the US in 2019. The US is again increasingly a nation of immigrants.
State of immigration

Defense

What is the state of the military, and how are US veterans faring?

Defense spending increased in 2020 but was 11% lower than its 2010 peak. The military is the largest it has been since 2012 but is still smaller than it was in 1980. The US has fewer troops abroad, particularly in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Nearly 84,000 National Guard soldiers were on duty on June 2, equal to half the number of active-duty troops abroad and one-fifth of available National Guard members. Foreign aid (adjusted for inflation) has declined each year since 2015, and makes up less than 1% of the federal budget. Veterans have higher levels of employment, lower rates of poverty, and higher rates of disability than the overall population.
State of defense

Federal Government Actions

What did the federal government do last year?

There were 24 actions about health. There were 33 actions about the economy and jobs. There were 18 actions about standard of living. There was one action on population. There were 16 actions on the budget. There were two actions on education. There were 20 actions on crime and justice. There were 46 actions on land, energy, and the environment. There were nine actions on infrastructure. There were six actions on immigration. There were 82 actions on defense. There were 76 other kinds of actions.
State of government actions