People have every right to be upset about gasoline prices. They also deserve to know that the economy underneath those prices is booming. Both things can be said at once, though almost nobody says them together.

Start with the numbers. Real gross domestic product grew at a 1.5% annualized rate in the second quarter, on top of 2.1% in the first. More to the point for actual households, real median household income hit $87,460 in 2025 — the highest figure the Census Bureau has recorded. After taxes and credits, it climbed another 3.1%. Women’s earnings are now higher than ever, and the wage gap between men and women is now lower than at any time in history.