WASHINGTON, DC / RankWire.AI / – The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2% annual rate in the second quarter of 2026. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis raised its estimate from the previously reported 1.5% pace. The revision covered economic activity from April through June. Officials also raised first-quarter growth to 2.5% from an earlier estimate of 2.1%. The updated figures showed stronger domestic activity than previous calculations had indicated across several major components of the economy.
Stronger investment, consumer spending and government spending drove much of the second-quarter revision. Consumer purchases and business investment contributed to growth, while higher imports reduced the headline GDP calculation. Imports count as a subtraction when economists calculate gross domestic product. Current-dollar GDP increased at an 8.5% annual rate during the quarter. Updated data also changed estimates for private inventories, fixed investment and several categories of household spending, providing a broader picture of economic activity.
Private fixed investment received support from stronger estimates for nonresidential structures and residential investment. Updated construction figures included commercial and health care projects, with data centers among the categories affecting nonresidential structures. Consumer spending estimates also moved higher for both goods and services. Recreational goods, vehicles and recreation services were among the areas that contributed to the revision. These changes lifted the final estimate above the previous second-quarter reading.
Domestic demand measures strengthen
Real final sales to private domestic purchasers increased at a 4.6% annual rate during the second quarter. The measure combines consumer spending and private fixed investment while excluding several more volatile GDP components. The earlier estimate had placed growth at 4.2%. Real gross domestic income increased 2.6% during the quarter. The average of real GDP and real gross domestic income rose 2.4%. Those measures provided additional detail on production and income generated across the U.S. economy.
Corporate profits from current production increased by $384 billion in the second quarter. Private services-producing industries increased real value added by 2.5%. Private goods-producing industries recorded a 2.3% gain, while the government sector rose by less than 0.1%. Real gross output increased 5.0% overall. Services-producing industries posted a 6.0% increase, goods-producing industries rose 3.0%, and government output advanced 2.6% during the period.
Price indexes remain elevated
The personal consumption expenditures price index increased at a 5.0% annual rate in the second quarter. An earlier estimate had placed the increase at 5.3%. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose at a 3.3% annual rate versus the previous 3.6% estimate. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 5.6%. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports these quarterly changes at seasonally adjusted annual rates, which differ from year-over-year inflation measures.
Economic growth varied across states during the second quarter. Real GDP increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia. New York recorded a 4.0% increase, while West Virginia posted a 2.3% decline. Current-dollar personal income rose by $314.3 billion, equal to a 4.7% annual rate. Personal income increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia. The latest national and regional figures also incorporated the agency’s 2026 annual updates to its economic accounts.