GDI (Annualized)

Monthly values

GDI (Annualized) — the last 8 quarters

Every quarter's reading, with the band the heatmap gives it. The chart above shows the same series in full.

Quarter	Value	Band
Q2 2026	8.8%	Very strong reading
Q1 2026	4.9%	Very strong reading
Q4 2025	5.4%	Very strong reading
Q3 2025	7.4%	Very strong reading
Q2 2025	4.8%	Very strong reading
Q1 2025	4.6%	Very strong reading

Quarter-end readings of the same series the chart shows, from gdi. Values are the current record, not point-in-time: a month that has since been revised shows its revised value.

What is the GDI?

Gross Domestic Income (GDI) measures the same economy as GDP, but from the income side: wages, profits, rents, and taxes, rather than spending. In principle the two are identical; in practice they diverge, because they are built from different source data that revise on different schedules. The figure shown is nominal GDI growth at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), computed from the level BEA publishes.

The GDP–GDI gap is information, not noise: when the two disagree, later revisions tend to close the gap, and economists watch the average of the two as a cleaner read of the economy. The Revisions Ledger tracks exactly this — how first-print GDI settles over three years, and how its revisions compare with GDP's (see the REVISION PROFILE line above and the Revisions Ledger methodology for the gap story).

GDI publishes roughly one month behind GDP: it arrives with the second GDP estimate, so this tile reads one estimate cycle behind its neighbor — that lag is BEA's release anatomy, not staleness.

How We Color-Code the GDI

Our heatmap colors each indicator based on historically significant thresholds:

Above 3%

Strong income growth — the economy expanding well above trend

1% – 3%

Healthy growth — around the long-run trend

0% – 1%

Slow growth — below trend, not contracting

-1% – 0%

Mild contraction — income shrinking

Below -1%

Significant contraction — recession-consistent

Historical Extremes — What Happened Next?

When this indicator reaches extreme levels, history shows consistent patterns:

2020-04-01COVID Collapse

-31.6%

The deepest quarterly income contraction in the modern record as the economy shut down; matched by the spending side (GDP) in the same quarter.

2020-07-01COVID Reopening Rebound

+33.8%

The mirror-image rebound as incomes snapped back with reopening — the largest annualized gain in the series.

Investor Checklist — Current Reading

Based on the current GDI reading of 8.8% (Very Positive):

✓Strong income growth supports earnings and employment; cross-check GDP for agreement

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between GDP and GDI?

They measure the same economy from opposite sides of the ledger: GDP adds up spending, GDI adds up income (wages, profits, rents, taxes). In theory they are equal; in practice they diverge because the source data differ, and the gap tends to close through revisions.

Why does GDI update later than GDP?

BEA publishes GDI with the second GDP estimate, about a month after the advance GDP print — so this reading is always one estimate cycle behind the GDP tile. That is the release schedule, not staleness.

Which is more reliable, GDP or GDI?

Research suggests neither alone — the average of the two (sometimes called GDO) tracks the business cycle at least as well as either. When they disagree, later revisions usually pull them together, which is why the gap is worth watching.

How much does GDI revise?

Substantially — its first prints settle over roughly three years as income-tax source data arrive. The REVISION PROFILE line on this page carries the measured record from the Revisions Ledger; note the short vintage archive (2013+), which is why several conditioned rows read “insufficient history”.