Income & Saving

A blog from BEA Director Vipin Arora

Every year, usually in January, I feel absolutely committed to getting a better handle on my finances. All I want to understand—not just at the end of the year, but throughout the year—is exactly what is coming in, what is going out, and what I have left over. Yet I can never seem to calculate these “personal profits,” nor how far I am from the mythical financial goals I’m supposed to have. Maybe my struggles are why I find our estimates of corporate profits at BEA so remarkable.

Real gross domestic product increased in 39 states and the District of Columbia in the first quarter of 2024, with the percent change ranging from 5.0 percent at an annual rate in Idaho to –4.2 percent in South Dakota. 

Personal income increased $114.1 billion (0.5 percent at a monthly rate) in May. Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—increased $94.0 billion (0.5 percent). Personal outlays—the sum of personal consumption expenditures (PCE), personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—increased $56.4 billion (0.3 percent) and consumer spending increased $47.8 billion (0.2 percent). Personal saving was $806.1 billion and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.9 percent in May. 

BEA has released a set of prototype statistics that help assess how households share in each state’s economic growth. The statistics, now available for 2022, show how personal income is distributed across each state’s households and provide metrics that can be used to study income inequality.

Personal income increased $65.3 billion (0.3 percent at a monthly rate) in April. Disposable personal income —personal income less personal current taxes—increased $40.2 billion (0.2 percent). Personal outlays—the sum of personal consumption expenditures, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—increased $42.8 billion (0.2 percent) and consumer spending increased $39.1 billion (0.2 percent). Personal saving was $744.5 billion and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.6 percent in April. 

Personal income increased $122.0 billion (0.5 percent at a monthly rate) in March. Disposable personal income —personal income less personal current taxes—increased $104.0 billion (0.5 percent). Personal outlays—the sum of personal consumption expenditures, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—increased $172.1 billion (0.9 percent) and consumer spending increased $160.9 billion (0.8 percent). Personal saving was $671.0 billion and the personal saving rate— personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.2 percent in March. 

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in 2023, with the percent change ranging from 5.9 percent in North Dakota to –1.2 percent in Delaware.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the percent change ranging from 6.7 percent in Nevada to 0.2 percent in Nebraska.

Personal income increased $66.5 billion (0.3 percent at a monthly rate) in February. Disposable personal income —personal income less personal current taxes—increased $50.3 billion (0.2 percent). Personal outlays—the sum of personal consumption expenditures, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—increased $149.9 billion (0.8 percent) and consumer spending increased $145.5 billion (0.8 percent). Personal saving was $745.7 billion and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.6 percent in February.

Personal income increased $233.7 billion (1.0 percent at a monthly rate) in January. Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—increased $67.6 billion (0.3 percent). Personal outlays—the sum of personal consumption expenditures (PCE), personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—increased $54.3 billion (0.3 percent) and consumer spending increased $43.9 billion (0.2 percent). Personal saving was $779.3 billion and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.8 percent in January.