BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) API Reference

Overview

The Bureau of Economic Analysis API provides access to U.S. economic accounts data including GDP (national income and product accounts -- NIPA), personal income, international trade, industry accounts, and regional economic data. Structured as a single endpoint with dataset-specific parameters.

Base URL

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data

Authentication

• API Key: REQUIRED. Register at https://apps.bea.gov/API/signup/
• Pass as query parameter: &UserID=YOUR_API_KEY

Rate Limits

• 100 requests per minute per API key.
• 100 MB of data per minute per API key.
• 30 errors per minute -- exceeding triggers a temporary lockout.
• Daily and monthly limits are not formally published but BEA may throttle heavy use.

Common Parameters (all requests)

Methods

1. GetDataSetList

Lists all available datasets.

GET /api/data?method=GetDataSetList&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Example:

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetDataSetList&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Response:

{
  "BEAAPI": {
    "Request": {
      "RequestParam": [
        {"ParameterName": "METHOD", "ParameterValue": "GETDATASETLIST"},
        {"ParameterName": "RESULTFORMAT", "ParameterValue": "JSON"}
      ]
    },
    "Results": {
      "Dataset": [
        {"DatasetName": "NIPA", "DatasetDescription": "Standard NIPA tables"},
        {"DatasetName": "NIUnderlyingDetail", "DatasetDescription": "National Income and Product Accounts Underlying Detail"},
        {"DatasetName": "MNE", "DatasetDescription": "Multinational Enterprises"},
        {"DatasetName": "FixedAssets", "DatasetDescription": "Fixed Assets"},
        {"DatasetName": "ITA", "DatasetDescription": "International Transactions"},
        {"DatasetName": "IIP", "DatasetDescription": "International Investment Position"},
        {"DatasetName": "GDPbyIndustry", "DatasetDescription": "GDP by Industry"},
        {"DatasetName": "Regional", "DatasetDescription": "Regional data"},
        {"DatasetName": "UnderlyingGDPbyIndustry", "DatasetDescription": "Underlying GDP by Industry"},
        {"DatasetName": "InputOutput", "DatasetDescription": "Input-Output Statistics"}
      ]
    }
  }
}

2. GetParameterList

Lists parameters for a specific dataset.

GET /api/data?method=GetParameterList&DatasetName={dataset}&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Example:

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetParameterList&DatasetName=NIPA&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Response:

{
  "BEAAPI": {
    "Results": {
      "Parameter": [
        {
          "ParameterName": "TableName",
          "ParameterDataType": "string",
          "ParameterDescription": "The standard NIPA table identifier",
          "ParameterIsRequiredFlag": "1",
          "ParameterDefaultValue": ""
        },
        {
          "ParameterName": "Frequency",
          "ParameterDataType": "string",
          "ParameterDescription": "A - Annual, Q - Quarterly, M - Monthly",
          "ParameterIsRequiredFlag": "1",
          "ParameterDefaultValue": ""
        },
        {
          "ParameterName": "Year",
          "ParameterDataType": "string",
          "ParameterDescription": "List of year(s) of data to retrieve",
          "ParameterIsRequiredFlag": "1",
          "ParameterDefaultValue": ""
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. GetParameterValues

Lists valid values for a parameter.

GET /api/data?method=GetParameterValues&DatasetName={dataset}&ParameterName={param}&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Example (list NIPA tables):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetParameterValues&DatasetName=NIPA&ParameterName=TableName&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Response (abbreviated):

{
  "BEAAPI": {
    "Results": {
      "ParamValue": [
        {"TableName": "T10101", "Description": "Table 1.1.1. Percent Change From Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product"},
        {"TableName": "T10106", "Description": "Table 1.1.6. Real Gross Domestic Product, Chained Dollars"},
        {"TableName": "T10105", "Description": "Table 1.1.5. Gross Domestic Product"},
        {"TableName": "T20100", "Description": "Table 2.1. Personal Income and Its Disposition"},
        {"TableName": "T30100", "Description": "Table 3.1. Government Current Receipts and Expenditures"}
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. GetData

The main data retrieval method. Parameters vary by dataset.

GET /api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName={dataset}&{params}&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Dataset-Specific Parameters & Examples

A. NIPA (National Income and Product Accounts)

Parameters:

Example (Real GDP percent change, quarterly, 2022-2024):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=NIPA&TableName=T10101&Frequency=Q&Year=2022,2023,2024&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Example (GDP levels, annual, all years):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=NIPA&TableName=T10105&Frequency=A&Year=ALL&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Response:

{
  "BEAAPI": {
    "Request": { ... },
    "Results": {
      "Statistic": "NIPA Table",
      "UTCProductionTime": "2024-11-01T13:00:00.000",
      "Dimensions": [
        {"Name": "TableName", "DataType": "string", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "SeriesCode", "DataType": "string", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "LineNumber", "DataType": "numeric", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "LineDescription", "DataType": "string", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "TimePeriod", "DataType": "string", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "METRIC_NAME", "DataType": "string", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "CL_UNIT", "DataType": "string", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "UNIT_MULT", "DataType": "numeric", "IsValue": "0"},
        {"Name": "DataValue", "DataType": "numeric", "IsValue": "1"}
      ],
      "Data": [
        {
          "TableName": "T10101",
          "SeriesCode": "A191RL",
          "LineNumber": "1",
          "LineDescription": "Gross domestic product",
          "TimePeriod": "2022Q1",
          "METRIC_NAME": "Fisher Quantity Index",
          "CL_UNIT": "Percent change",
          "UNIT_MULT": "0",
          "DataValue": "-1.6",
          "NoteRef": "T10101"
        },
        {
          "TableName": "T10101",
          "SeriesCode": "A191RL",
          "LineNumber": "1",
          "LineDescription": "Gross domestic product",
          "TimePeriod": "2022Q2",
          "CL_UNIT": "Percent change",
          "DataValue": "-0.6"
        }
      ],
      "Notes": [
        {"NoteRef": "T10101", "NoteText": "Table 1.1.1. Percent Change From Preceding Period..."}
      ]
    }
  }
}

B. Regional (State, County, MSA data)

Parameters:

Common Regional Tables:

Example (GDP by state, all states, 2020-2023):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=Regional&TableName=CAGDP1&LineCode=1&GeoFips=STATE&Year=2020,2021,2022,2023&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Example (Personal income for California):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=Regional&TableName=CAINC1&LineCode=1&GeoFips=06000&Year=LAST5&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Response:

{
  "BEAAPI": {
    "Results": {
      "Data": [
        {
          "GeoFips": "06000",
          "GeoName": "California",
          "Code": "CAINC1-1",
          "TimePeriod": "2023",
          "CL_UNIT": "Thousands of dollars",
          "UNIT_MULT": "3",
          "DataValue": "3,220,965,123"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

C. ITA (International Transactions Accounts / Trade)

Parameters:

Common ITA Indicators:

Example (US trade balance in goods with China, quarterly):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=ITA&Indicator=BalGds&AreaOrCountry=China&Frequency=Q&Year=2022,2023,2024&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

D. GDPbyIndustry

Parameters:

Common Table IDs:

Example (Value added by all industries, annual):

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=GDPbyIndustry&TableID=1&Industry=ALL&Frequency=A&Year=2020,2021,2022,2023&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

E. IIP (International Investment Position)

Parameters:

Example:

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=IIP&TypeOfInvestment=ALL&Component=ALL&Frequency=A&Year=2020,2021,2022,2023&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

F. FixedAssets

Parameters:

Example:

https://apps.bea.gov/api/data?method=GetData&DatasetName=FixedAssets&TableName=FAAt101&Year=ALL&UserID=YOUR_KEY&ResultFormat=JSON

Key NIPA Table Reference

GeoFips Reference (Common)

Notes

• DataValue in responses is a string, sometimes with commas (e.g., "3,220,965,123"). Parse by removing commas.
• Year=X returns only the most recent year available.
• Year=LAST5 returns the 5 most recent years.
• For NIPA tables, results contain multiple line items per table (different GDP components are different LineNumbers).
• The GetParameterValues method is essential for discovering valid table names, line codes, and indicator codes for each dataset.
• BEA also provides bulk download files at https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/ for interactive use.
• Time periods for quarterly data use format 2024Q1, 2024Q2, etc.
• All monetary values are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified. Units are indicated in CL_UNIT and UNIT_MULT fields.

Use GetParameterValues for current table/line labels and GetParameterValuesFiltered for valid combinations; special year values are dataset-specific. State GDP tables use the SAGDP family. Source: https://apps.bea.gov/api/_pdf/bea_web_service_api_user_guide.pdf