Last updated: September 13th, 2024
Bill Clinton was a Democratic governor from Arkansas who presided over an economic expansion that lasted his entire two terms. He also had to work with Republicans to write policy after they won control of both Houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years in 1994.
As president Bill Clinton raised taxes on top income earners, cut welfare and defense spending, and balanced the federal budget by his second term in office. He oversaw a period of extensive federal devolution to state and local government, and commercial deregulation.
Below is a table summarizing Bill Clinton's cumulative and annualized performance across all the metrics we track. These are for the entirety of Bill Clinton's term.
| Indicator | Cumulative Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| NASDAQ | 297.58% |
| DOW | 225.17% |
| S&P | 208.54% |
| Job Growth | 20.86% |
| GDP Growth | 34.23% |
The Deficit Reduction Act (Aug 1993)
- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Aug 1996)
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Nov 1999)
Republicans Win Control of Both Houses of Congress for the First Time in 40 years (Nov 1994)
- US Treasury’s First Surplus since 1969 (Fiscal Year 1998)
- Dow crosses 10,000 for the first time (1999)
Under Bill Clinton’s presidency, the S&P 500 gained 208.54%, the NASDAQ gained 297.58% and the Dow Jones gained 225.17%. Annualized, the S&P 500 gained 15.11%, the NASDAQ gained 18.82% and the Dow Jones gained 15.87%
Here is Bill Clinton’s cumulative stock market performance broken out by term.
| Indicator | Cumulative End of Term 1 | Cumulative End of Term 2 |
|---|---|---|
| NASDAQ | 93.60% | 297.58% |
| DOW | 109.86% | 225.17% |
| S&P | 78.38% | 208.54% |
Go to our Learning Center to learn more about stock market performance and how it affects you.
Here is Clinton’s cumulative GDP growth performance broken out by term.
| Indicator | Cumulative End of Term 1 | Cumulative End of Term 2 |
|---|---|---|
| GDP Growth | 14.55% | 34.23% |
Here is Clinton’s cumulative job growth performance broken out by term.
| Indicator | Cumulative End of Term 1 | Cumulative End of Term 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Job Growth | 10.54% | 20.86% |
We capture the data as soon as it’s available to us – stock market data after daily market close, jobs data once a month and GDP data once a quarter. After verifying the raw data, we then calculate updated cumulative and annualized performance data for the current president (the data for previous presidents have been calculated and verified in advance).
Some metrics are measured daily (like stock market performance), monthly (like jobs growth) and quarterly (like GDP growth). We start measurement of performance for a president from the first full time period after their inauguration. For stock market performance, it is the first stock market day in office. For jobs growth, it’s either first full calendar month in office (so if you are inaugurated in the middle of January, the first full month is February). This ensures a consistent starting point across all presidencies.
Also, read these articles in our Learning Center:
- What is the difference between cumulative and annualized performance?
- What’s the best way to interpret the facts and data on Facts First?
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