How did wage growth, consumer spending, and household debt look at the end of Biden's term?
Executive summary
By the time Joe Biden left office, nominal wages had risen materially but many analyses found prices rose faster over his term, eroding much of those gains for households [1] [2]. At the same time consumers continued to spend and retail sales and household net worth were up, even as total household debt reached record levels and credit-card balances surged, a set of facts that produced both political backlash and competing narratives about who or what to blame [3] [2] [4].
1. Wage growth: real gains on paper, mixed in pocketbooks
Wages rose during Biden’s term — overall pay and average hourly earnings increased and unemployment stayed at multi‑decade lows, with some accounts putting average pay up roughly 19% since 2021 and production and non‑supervisory real wages at historically high levels versus prior presidents [2] [5]. Yet multiple nonpartisan summaries and news outlets stress that inflation outpaced wage gains for much of the period: the CPI rose sharply under Biden (FactCheck notes a 21.5% CPI increase across the term), leaving many households feeling poorer despite nominal pay gains [1] [3]. Some outlets and analyses emphasize that after adjusting for inflation, real wages show only modest improvement in aggregate — and in some measures real wages fell from certain starting points — creating legitimate debate over the distribution and durability of wage gains [6] [7].
2. Consumer spending: resilient and robust even as confidence frayed
Consumer spending remained strong through the end of the term — retail sales and household expenditures grew and consumers continued vacations and activity consistent with a confident spending pattern, supporting solid GDP growth and job creation [3] [5]. Household net worth rose to record levels driven by rising equity and real estate values, even as surveys showed consumer sentiment and confidence weakened because higher prices hit routine budgets [3] [5]. This produces a paradox often highlighted in coverage: balance sheets and aggregate demand looked healthy while many households reported strain from higher day‑to‑day costs [3].
3. Household debt: record totals and rising credit burdens
Total household debt climbed to record amounts during the period, with several sources citing double‑digit percentage increases in outstanding consumer liabilities and eye‑catching increases in credit‑card balances — the Washington Examiner/House GOP summaries put total household debt at roughly $17.7 trillion and report credit‑card debt near $1.12 trillion, while other nonpartisan trackers note substantial increases in borrowing since 2021 [4] [8]. Analysts point to a blend of higher costs, refinancing at higher interest rates, and stronger borrowing for mortgages and consumer credit as drivers of the debt rise, and observers note rising interest‑service costs on federal debt as an added fiscal constraint [8] [9].
4. How to read the competing narratives and their agendas
Coverage splits along predictable lines: mainstream outlets and independent analysts emphasize that wages rose and households had more net worth even as inflation damaged purchasing power [2] [6], while partisan critics frame the period as a debt‑ and inflation‑driven decline in living standards because debt and price increases outpaced meaningful real wage gains [10] [4] [8]. Some fiscal watchdogs like the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget quantify legislative impacts on medium‑term debt baselines and attribute billions in ten‑year debt authorizations to administration actions, while the House budget office and conservative commentators highlight the political and fiscal costs of higher deficits and interest spending [9] [11] [8]. Each source advances an implicit agenda: administrations and allies point to jobs, pay and net worth gains [5] [2], while opponents stress inflation, rising debt burdens and distributional harms [3] [4].
5. Bottom line and limits of the record
The empirical bottom line in the reporting: nominal wages rose and the labor market was strong, consumers spent and aggregate household net worth grew, but inflation rose faster than wages in critical stretches and household debt surged to record levels — a mix that left many families worse off in day‑to‑day purchasing power even as headline indicators looked positive [2] [1] [3] [4]. Available sources document these trends but differ sharply on how much to blame policy versus pandemic‑era supply shocks and monetary responses; the records cited here do not settle that causal debate, they only document the concurrent facts [1] [12].