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Dow JonesCreated in 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the world’s oldest and most widely recognized stock indexes—a measure tracking the stock performance of a selected group of companies. Originally designed to track America’s leading industrial firms, the Dow has evolved into a cultural and financial shorthand for the health of the US economy. As of 2025, it measures 30 major companies (called components) across sectors such as technology, healthcare, finance, and consumer goods. Unlike most modern indices, which are weighted by the total value of a company’s shares, the DJIA uses a price-weighted formula—meaning stocks with higher share prices exert more influence, regardless of company size. The DJIA has been updated 59 times since its creation to reflect changes in the US economy. Companies can be removed if they decline in relevance, merge or are acquired, or no longer represent the sectors the index aims to capture.Explore Dow Jones

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Government shutdowns can cost the US economy billionsThe Congressional Budget Office estimated that the 2018-19 shutdown reduced economic output by about $11B, including a permanent loss of roughly $3B CNBC Tariffs once fueled the US economyUS tariffs peaked in 1930 with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which slashed global trade by 65%. Once a key revenue source, tariffs gave way to income taxes in 1913, leading to decades of lower trade barriers. Today, US tariffs remain among the lowest worldwide. 1440 The Federal Reserve follows the health of the US economy by tracking the money supplyThat includes all of the physical and electronic money in circulation. It tracks not only US coins and bills, but also the money that moves through bank deposits. The Fed uses metrics called trackers to follow different types of transactions through the money supply. Investopedia During COVID-19, the Fed made drastic moves in attempts to shore up the US economy called quantitative easingThe Fed took an aggressive approach to help the US economy during COVID-19 beyond standard monetary levers, including broad purchases of mortgage-backed securities, Treasury securities, and more. Brookings Generative AI may automate nearly 10% of tasks in the US economyThis automation is expected to impact both low- and high-wage roles, with those in customer service, food service, and office support being most likely to be affected. Large-scale investments in upskilling will be necessary to help individuals find new employment opportunities. The McKinsey Podcast The US exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported in 2025In fact, the US has been exporting more oil and petroleum products than it imports since August 2021. Petroleum and petroleum product exports totaled about 10.7 million barrels per day, whereas imports totaled about 7.9 million barrels per day. USAFacts Alaska has the highest lifetime credit card debt of all US states at $484,620That's 21.8% above the national average, partly due to Alaska's high cost of living and remote nature, which makes shipping in food and fuel more expensive. Iowa had the lowest average lifetime credit card debt out of all the states in the US at $319,740. Visual Capitalist Around 60% of female billionaires in the US are self-madeThere are 154 female billionaires in America and around 60% of them are considered self-made—meaning some of their wealth comes from a business venture launched on their own. Alice Walton, the founder of Walmart's daughter, is the richest female in the US, clocking a net worth of $138B. The Wall Street Journal Ranking the world’s economies: 1980 vs. 2025 The US remains the world’s largest economy, having increased its annual gross domestic product from $2.9T in 1980 to $30.6T in 2025. In 1980, China ranked seventh globally with a GDP of $304B. In 2025, China ranked second with a GDP of $19.4T. Visual Capitalist The market share of institutional investors in the US housing market is less than 1%Institutional investors have drawn negative media attention for their purported role in limiting housing supply and driving housing unaffordability. This report separates myth from fact in the nuanced discussion around institutional investors' role in the US housing market. American Enterprise Institute - AEI 'Planet Money' debates the financial indicators that defined 2025In this end-of-year episode, "Planet Money" stages a playful debate over which economic indicators best captured the chaos of 2025—from tariffs to AI bubbles—and which signals may matter most as the US economy heads into 2026. Planet Money The US stores hundreds of millions of oil barrels in caves along the Texas-Louisiana coastThe US has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve that it taps into, releasing barrels into the economy, during times of emergency (think: major storms and wars) to try to stabilize markets. The Wall Street Journal 25% of US households had no regular income as of 2024Some states had higher shares of no-income households than others: West Virginia, for instance, had a national high of 34% of households with no income. These states tend to have older populations, higher rates of disability, and lower median incomes overall. In such contexts, a larger portion of households rely on non-earned income sources or report no income during the survey period. Visual Capitalist A list of the world's top 25 economies by GDPGross domestic product estimates the value of goods and services produced in a country, typically through the expenditure method, which adds up spending by consumers, investors and governments with the value of exports. The top five economies are the US, China, Germany, Japan and India. Investopedia AI investment may be the next major economic bubbleA video examines the massive surge in AI spending—forecast to hit $500B by 2026—and how this may be propping up a fragile US economy. Experts warn that if AI investment slows or under-delivers, the consequences could be felt in markets, jobs and growth. CNBC California has the highest median rent in the US at $2,104Hawaii has the second-highest median rent in the US at roughly $1,942 per month, including utilities. That's as of 2024, based on data from the US Census Bureau. Visual Capitalist Texas is the state with the most energy sector employeesTexas has more than 990,000 individuals in the energy sector—roughly eight out of every 100 workers statewide. Oil and natural gas production account for more than 289,000 workers. USAFacts Nonprofit theaters are incubators for new theaterUnlike commercial Broadway theaters, ticket sales account for only a fraction of nonprofit theaters' income. This lets them take chances on new playwrights and innovative shows, including Lin Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" and Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George." Playbill US defense spending peaked during the Korean War at 13% of GDPIn 1953, during the Korean War, US defense spending reached 13.58% of GDP—more than three times today’s level. That peak marked the most militarized moment of the Cold War, and spending has never returned to that level since. Econofact The overall median annual salary in the US was $62,192 as of 2025The age group with the highest median annual salary in the US, $70,824, was made up of people ages 45 to 54, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from July 28, 2025. Visual Capitalist Large oil companies knew about the impact of carbon emissions since the ’70sPBS Frontline’s The Power of Big Oil reveals how industry giants like Exxon and Shell were researching climate change in the 1970s but then funded denial campaigns—using internal science to sow public doubt for decades. FRONTLINE See the average income in every US stateDC residents make an average of $108K a year, but residents of nearby state West Virginia earn the country's lowest average annual income of just $55K. Visual Capitalist Roughly $5T of stimulus money flooded the economy during the pandemicRecessions can last anywhere from months to years. To encourage economic growth, governments use policy levers such as lowering interest rates or introducing a stimulus. Economists credit massive stimulus funds for helping the economy quickly recover from a recession during the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York Times The clearest sign of a recession is a steady increase of job losses and high unemploymentThe National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) looks at six key economic indicators, including industrial production, to determine when the economy is experiencing a recession. CBS News The US has been through 34 recessions since 1854From 1855 to 2020, the average US recession lasted for an average of 17 months. But in the 20th and 21st centuries, the average recession length has shortened, decreasing to 14 months. USAFacts Revenue from tariffs goes to the US Treasury’s general fundThat's also where federal income taxes go. Revenue from tariffs can be spent on almost anything the government needs, such as funding programs like Medicare or the military. Marketplace How important is manufacturing for an economy?Contemporary US politics has much to say about manufacturing and its crucial role in national security, economic growth, and well-paying jobs. Tariff policies are enacted to "reshore" manufacturing jobs. Economists say some legitimate reasons exist for this emphasis, but some are rooted in nostalgia. NPR US women got the right to open a credit card in their own name in 1974Before that year, banks in the US were legally allowed to deny women credit or charge them higher interest if they failed to get a male cosigner. Kiplinger Studies show correlations between women's sports and leadership rolesA 2024 Women’s Sports Foundation report showed 69% of women who played sports held leadership roles. Similarly, a 2015 study showed 94% of women in C-suite roles had been involved with athletics. Fast Company Comic-Con generates over $165M for the San Diego economy each yearSan Diego’s community gets a significant boost from Comic‑Con, which draws around 135,000 attendees annually. It generates over $165M in regional spending—with more than $90M coming directly from visitors—and adds approximately $3.2M in city tax revenue. SDSU Mapping manufacturing as a share of GDP, by each US stateManufacturing accounts for roughly 10% of gross domestic product nationally. Across the fifty states, that percentage varies. In both Wyoming and Washington, DC, manufacturing is totally absent from the region's economic putout, while Indiana benefits from 26% of its economy coming from the sector. Visual Capitalist Tracking US spending this yearSee an up-to-date accounting of how much money the US federal government has spent this fiscal year. This helpful and interactive webpage from the US Treasury Department gives an expansive overview of how the government has spent its money and how spending trends have evolved over time. US Treasury Fiscal Data Visualize government spending with USAFactsThis resource turns complex federal budget data into clear charts and summaries, letting users explore how much the government spends; where the money goes; and how revenue, deficits, and debt change over time. USAFacts The US government has shut down 22 times since 1976This resource breaks down every federal shutdown since 1976, showing how long each lasted and the budget disputes that caused them—revealing how routine funding failures have become in modern US politics. ThoughtCo The debt ceiling is a legal cap on how much money the US government can borrowSet by Congress, the debt ceiling limits total federal borrowing. This guide explains why the cap was created, how it has evolved, and why raising or suspending it has become a recurring political flash point. TIME The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market indexThe Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks 30 large U.S. companies from all major U.S. sectors except for utilities and transportation. It's considered a bellwether of the U.S. economy. Investopedia Origins of consumer credit reportingCredit reporting started as a service for businesses rather than consumers. In the 1700s US economy, consumer credit reporting wasn’t necessary. A loan to a farmer for agricultural supplies, for instance, would inevitably help them purchase both personal and business items. CNBC Andrew Jackson was the first and only president to eliminate the national debtAfter Jackson slashed spending and began selling federal land, the government was accumulating more money than it was spending. The situation was unprecedented, but it didn’t last. Too much money was being printed and land prices rose to unsustainable levels. Within a year, the economy tumbled into a depression. NPR The global economy runs on US dollarsNearly 90% of international trade in 2019 was processed in US dollars. It’s not only the most circulated currency in the world but also considered one of the most stable. The Wall Street Journal An economic evaluation of US tariffsMost economists agree that the implementation of large-scale tariffs on foreign goods would hurt both the American and global economies. This video from The Wall Street Journal explains the rationale for tariffs as a tool for domestic job creation, but explains why they may hurt the overall economy. The Wall Street Journal Many years ago, the US dollar became the world's primary reserve currencyIn 1944, 44 nations gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to rebuild the global economy. The result? The US dollar became the world’s reserve currency, backed by gold. 1440 The US dollar is the official currency of the United States and is the most circulated currency around the worldThe US dollar was established in 1792 and comes in the form of coins or paper money. It's considered one of (if not the most) stable currencies in the world due to America’s strong and robust economy, as well as its relatively stable government. Investopedia Many of the top companies in the US by market cap began as tech startupsCombined, the top seven companies by market cap in the US as of December 2024—Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla—were worth more than $16T at the time. 1440 Explore the 2025 Uber lost & found indexA chainsaw. Ten live lobsters. A mannequin head with human hair. These are just a few curious items passengers left behind in Ubers this year, according to Uber itself. Uber is among the largest gig economy platforms in the US, with a valuation of roughly $150B as of 2024. Uber The number of people collecting money from gig work tripled between 2017 and 2021That includes people driving for Lyft or delivering food through GrubHub. Those people might be changing the face of the US economy at large, too. Gig work provides a cushion between jobs outside of government unemployment assistance, for example. CNN The average salary for full-time gig workers is roughly $60K a year in the USHigh-earners can make more than six figures, while close to 15% make less than the federal minimum hour wage. Most gig workers in the United States still have to file a tax return every year. Internal Revenue Service The film industry is responsible for more than 200K jobs in CaliforniaHollywood films generate roughly $49B for the US economy each year. In California, the film industry provides more than 200,000 jobs. Industry employees were paid more than $42B in wages in 2022. Motion Picture Association Read about the evolution of the S&P 500 and its recession recoverySince the S&P 500 is considered a bellwether index (meaning it represents the health of the US economy), its value is important for investors in both bull and bear markets. The S&P 500 has been impacted by recessions and downturns, from the 1970s oil crisis to the dot-com crash of the early 2000s. Investopedia What is the creator economy?The creator economy is a system powered by people creating online content for monetizable audiences. These “creators” and “influencers” make money off their digital audiences through brand deals or revenue shares with social media platforms. US Chamber of Commerce A centrally planned economy is one where the government—not markets—sets productionThis Investopedia article explains how command economies work, which countries have used them, and why even market-based nations like the US sometimes adopt tools such as rationing or price controls during wartime or national emergencies. Investopedia

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