Where the economy and politics collide

As Barack Obama begins second term, the economy is top of the list of priorities. After working with Congress to resolve the fiscal cliff crisis in the first days of 2013, the president quickly had to turn his attention to the looming debt ceiling debate. Partisan questions remain over the balance between tax rates and government expenditures on programmes like social security and Medicare.

All data used within the graphic represents annual 2011 figures, unless otherwise noted. This measure was chosen as it shows a more consistent measure instead of monthly fluctuations. More detailed explanations are below the graphic.

The election results are based on Real Clear Politics data.

Detailed data explanation:
State GDP change: Measures the per cent change between the current annual gross domestic product for each state and the figure for the previous year. Using the per cent change removes the variance in sizes of state economies. Commerce department explanation
Average annual income: This is the GDP of the state divided by the total population of the state. Commerce department explanation
House price index: The index is maintained by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and is a “weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties”. The index is populated using information from mortgages purchased or securitised by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since January 1975. FHFA explanation
Foreclosure rate: The foreclosure rate is measured by RealtyTrac, the largest provider of foreclosure data. The annual foreclosure rate refers to total number of housing units divided by the number of homes receiving foreclosure notices during the year. RealtyTrac explanation
Poverty rate: The per cent of people who were in poverty in a calendar year. Poverty is measured by a series of income thresholds depending on the household size. The current level for a family of four is approximately $23,000. US Census bureau explanation
Unemployment: The unemployment rate is based on a monthly survey that counts the number of people that do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks and are currently available for work. BLS explanation