BEA Economic Accounts

BEA Economic Accounts

BEA provides GDP, personal income, and economic account data. Datasets: NIPA (national income), Regional (state/county GDP, income), International (trade, investment), Industry (GDP by industry). API uses method-based queries: GETDATASETLIST, GETPARAMETERLIST, GETPARAMETERVALUES, GETDATA. Regional GDP available by state, MSA, county.

Typical read order

1. List datasets to pick NIPA, Regional, International, or Industry.
2. List parameters for the chosen dataset (required fields and table identifiers).
3. List parameter values for TableName, GeoFips, Year, or LineCode when you need valid codes.
4. Fetch data rows with dataset name, table name, and any geographic or time filters.

Data Model

• NIPA — National Income and Product Accounts: GDP, personal income, corporate profits, government spending. Quarterly and annual tables (e.g. T10101 = GDP).
• Regional — state and county economic data: GDP by state, personal income, per capita income, employment. Identified by GeoFIPS codes.
• International — trade in goods/services, direct investment, balance of payments. Quarterly and annual.
• Industry — GDP by industry, input-output tables, employment by industry.
• Parameter values — retrieve valid values for any dataset parameter (table names, FIPS codes, year formats) to construct accurate data queries.

Gotchas

• Method parameter — all requests require method query param (GETDATASETLIST, GETPARAMETERLIST, GETPARAMETERVALUES, GETDATA).
• ResultFormat — must specify ResultFormat=JSON for JSON responses; default is XML.
• Rate limits — 100 requests per minute, 100 MB per minute, 30 errors per minute.
• Regional GeoFIPS — 5-digit FIPS codes for counties, 2-digit for states, "STATE" or "COUNTY" for all.