Who was our best president financially?
Executive summary
Economic rankings of U.S. presidents depend on the metric you choose: GDP growth, stock-market returns, job creation, unemployment rate, deficit impact or per‑capita gains. Long-run compilations (MeasuringWorth) show annualized growth comparisons across presidents (1900–2024), while party‑level studies (JEC, Wikipedia) find Democratic administrations outperform Republican ones on many average metrics; sectoral or single‑indicator lists (Kiplinger, Investopedia) yield different winners depending on timeframe and method [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Metrics change the answer: GDP, jobs, stock market and more
Any claim about “best president financially” rests on which financial metric is used. MeasuringWorth produces annualized growth rates for dozens of variables across presidencies and explicitly frames the comparison as relative performance from 1900–2024, making GDP growth and GDP per capita the most common yardsticks [1]. Investopedia likewise uses real GDP growth as its key measure, noting limits and outside influences such as the Fed [4]. Kiplinger and stock‑market lists focus on market returns and can name different “best” presidents because stock performance does not mirror broader economic wellbeing [5].
2. Party patterns: Democrats often top macro averages
Analyses aggregated by party find consistent patterns: Democrats, on average since World War II, have overseen stronger job creation, faster GDP growth measures, better stock returns and lower unemployment than Republicans across many standard metrics. The Joint Economic Committee (Democratic staff) states the U.S. economy has performed “much better under Democratic presidents” on measures including total job growth and unemployment; Wikipedia’s synthesis of academic and journalistic work reaches a similar conclusion about post‑war averages [2] [3]. These are averages, not definitive causal proofs, and the research community debates why the difference exists [3].
3. Short terms and inheritances complicate attribution
Presidents inherit economic trends and shocks beyond their control. Coverage from BBC and the Economic Policy Institute highlights that strong pre‑existing momentum (or abrupt shocks like pandemics) shapes what a president “gets credit for” — for example, job rebounds after COVID that benefited subsequent administrations [6] [7]. MeasuringWorth uses annualized growth and standardizes term lengths to reduce but not eliminate this problem [1].
4. Narrative winners vary by story: Reagan, Clinton, FDR, and recent presidents
Different headline lists elevate different presidents. Some sources, like popular summaries and niche rankings, call Reagan, Clinton, or Roosevelt the best depending on whether recovery from stagflation, 1990s expansion, wartime mobilization, or stock‑market booms are foregrounded; 5‑Minute Economist cites a high “EPI” style score for Reagan in a particular framework [8]. Kiplinger ranks presidents by stock‑market results which emphasize 20th‑century post‑war gains and tech‑era returns [5]. MeasuringWorth provides multi‑variable tables so the “best” president depends on which variable a reader prioritizes [1] [5] [8].
5. Recent politics and contested claims: Trump and Biden-era comparisons
Contemporary political sources push competing narratives: the White House for President Trump highlights 2025 GDP revisions and growth figures as evidence of an “economic resurgence,” while other outlets and analysts point to the legacy effects of previous administrations and to monetary policy’s role [9] [10]. The Joint Economic Committee (Democrat) emphasizes stronger metrics under Democratic presidencies in the modern era as a systematic finding rather than a partisan talking point [2]. Reporters and economists disagree on how much credit any president deserves for short‑term moves in unemployment, inflation or mortgage rates [10] [6].
6. Methodological caveats: causation, timing and policy channels
Economic outcomes reflect global cycles, Federal Reserve policy, fiscal stimulus, trade shocks, and technology—factors many sources remind readers to consider. MeasuringWorth’s methodology converts observations to annualized growth to compare unequal term lengths, acknowledging that presidents are not sole drivers of macro trends [1]. Investopedia warns that GDP and other indicators are influenced by events beyond presidential control and that policy effects can take years [4]. When ranking presidents, choices about start/end dates, whether to adjust for population, and how to treat recessions produce very different lists [1] [4].
7. Bottom line for the question “who was our best president financially?”
There is no single authoritative answer in the available reporting: if you judge by long‑run averages across multiple macro indicators, Democratic presidents outperform Republicans on average [2] [3]. If you pick a single metric—real GDP growth, stock returns, or unemployment—different presidents top the lists, and MeasuringWorth provides the cross‑presidential tables to pursue any particular metric [1] [4] [5]. Available sources do not mention a universally agreed single “best” president across all financial measures.
Limitations: this account relies on the provided sources; for other rankings or primary data (BEA, BLS, Fed) consult the original MeasuringWorth tables and government datasets cited by those pieces [1] [11].