New Deal statistics at a glance
The New Deal was not one program but a surge of federal action that reshaped banking, employment, housing, power, and rural life.
The figures below show how wide the impact spread, from the 15 major pieces of legislation passed during the Hundred Days to the tens of millions of mortgages, workers, farms, and households touched by later programs.
Fast facts
- During the New Deal’s One Hundred Days, Congress enacted 15 major pieces of legislation establishing New Deal agencies and programs (National Archives).
- A parade in support of the NRA drew over a quarter of a million marchers down New York’s Fifth Avenue in September 1933 (National Archives).
- President Roosevelt’s national bank holiday began on March 6, 1933 (FDIC history).
- By March 16, 1933, about 3,800 bank suspensions had already occurred (FDIC history).
- During 1933, there were about 4,000 bank suspensions in total (FDIC history).
- By the end of 1933, the number of commercial banks operating in the United States had fallen to just over 14,000 (FDIC history).
Table of contents
- Banking emergency and deposit insurance
- Public works and employment
- Housing, farms, and utilities
- Social Security and labor protections
- New Deal-scale federal institutions
- What the statistics show together
Banking emergency and deposit insurance
The New Deal began under acute financial pressure, and the banking statistics show why the first response centered on restoring trust.
President Roosevelt’s national bank holiday began on March 6, 1933 (FDIC history). By March 16, 1933, about 3,800 bank suspensions had already occurred (FDIC history). During 1933, there were about 4,000 bank suspensions in total (FDIC history). By the end of 1933, the number of commercial banks operating in the United States had fallen to just over 14,000 (FDIC history).
Those figures frame the scale of the stabilization problem. The FDIC’s first actions were similarly large in reach. On January 1, 1934, 12,551 commercial banks received FDIC insurance (FDIC history). Those banks held about $11 billion in insured deposits on FDIC’s first day (FDIC history). The temporary federal deposit insurance limit began at $2,500 per depositor (FDIC historical timeline). Congress raised the basic FDIC insurance coverage to $5,000 effective July 1, 1934 (FDIC historical timeline).
The coverage numbers help show how quickly the new system matured. By year-end 1934, 14,146 commercial banks were insured (FDIC history). By year-end 1934, insured commercial banks held about $17 billion in insured deposits (FDIC history). At year-end 1934, 1,068 state-chartered commercial banks remained uninsured (FDIC history). Those uninsured state banks held about $500 million in deposits (FDIC history).
The FDIC also had to build an operating institution from the ground up. The FDIC finished its first year with 846 employees (FDIC history). The FDIC finished its first year with total fund assets of about $334 million (FDIC history). The FDIC handled nine insured bank failures during 1934 (FDIC history).
The uninsured share of deposits remained high even after reform. FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 54.9% of domestic deposits in 1934 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 55.3% of domestic deposits in 1935 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 55.6% of domestic deposits in 1936 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 53.2% of domestic deposits in 1937 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 54.5% of domestic deposits in 1938 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 57.1% of domestic deposits in 1939 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 59.2% of domestic deposits in 1940 (FDIC figure). FDIC data show uninsured deposits were 60.3% of domestic deposits in 1941 (FDIC figure).
That sequence matters because it shows the New Deal’s banking reforms were not a one-day fix. They created a durable federal framework, but the data still show a market where a majority of deposits could remain outside insurance in the years that followed.
Public works and employment
The New Deal was also a labor policy by another name. It expanded federal work, created public jobs, and pushed relief into the daily economy.
The Civilian Conservation Corps ultimately had more than 2.5 million men serve (National Archives). The CCC operated in more than 4,500 camps across the country (National Archives). About 2,600 Bonus Army veterans of 1933 joined the CCC (National Archives). CCC camps employed about 225,000 veterans over the next nine years (National Archives).
The Works Progress Administration scaled employment even further. The WPA provided work for almost 3.5 million Americans at its peak (Archives product page). The WPA employed more than 8 million people across its eight-year history (Archives product page).
Together, those numbers show two different kinds of labor intervention. The CCC was highly structured, camp-based, and environmental in focus. The WPA was broader and more urban-facing, with a far larger total headcount over time.
A simple comparison makes the contrast easier to see.
| Program | Scale in the statistics | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CCC | More than 2.5 million men served | National Archives |
| CCC camps | More than 4,500 camps | National Archives |
| CCC veterans | About 225,000 veterans employed over nine years | National Archives |
| WPA peak | Almost 3.5 million Americans | Archives product page |
| WPA total | More than 8 million people over eight years | Archives product page |
The table is useful because it separates peak employment from lifetime participation. A peak number captures intensity. A lifetime total captures duration and cumulative reach.
The WPA’s totals suggest the New Deal was not just providing temporary relief. It was building a multi-year employment system large enough to touch more than 8 million people across eight years (Archives product page). That scale matters because it places public works among the central operating facts of the era rather than a side program.
Housing, farms, and utilities
The New Deal’s reach extended well beyond banks and job creation. Its housing, farm, and power programs changed the infrastructure of everyday life.
The Federal Housing Administration was created in 1934 (HUD). Since 1934, FHA has insured over 50 million mortgages (HUD). At FHA’s creation, 2 million construction workers had lost their jobs (HUD). FHA mortgage loan terms were limited to 50% of a property’s market value (HUD). FHA loan terms initially used repayment schedules spread over 3 to 5 years (HUD). In 1934, only 1 in 10 households owned homes (HUD).
Those FHA figures show why housing reform was a labor policy, a finance policy, and a household policy all at once. The insured mortgage count is especially revealing. More than 50 million mortgages insured since 1934 is a long-run indicator of how deeply the program entered American housing finance (HUD).
The farm and rural electrification data are just as large in their own way. The Rural Electrification Administration was established in 1935 (USDA). In the 1930s, only about 10 percent of rural residents had electricity (USDA). By 1942, nearly 50 percent of U.S. farms had electricity (USDA). By 1950, close to 80 percent of U.S. farms had electric service (USDA). By the mid-1970s, more than 90 percent of farms had electricity and telephone service (USDA). In 1936, nearly 90 percent of farms lacked electric power (USDA).
That progression is one of the clearest examples in the New Deal statistics of a long-running change in access. A country where nearly 90 percent of farms lacked electric power in 1936 (USDA) became one where more than 90 percent of farms had electricity and telephone service by the mid-1970s (USDA). The data do not describe a single grant or a single year. They show an infrastructure transformation that unfolded over decades.
TVA sits in the same category of long-run physical change. TVA was created in 1933 (TVA). TVA now serves more than 10 million people across seven states (TVA). TVA manages 293,000 acres of reservoir land (TVA rates page). TVA manages 11,000 miles of shoreline (TVA rates page). TVA supports more than 80 public recreation areas (TVA rates page). TVA says its flood control efforts have averted more than $7 billion in potential damage (TVA rates page). TVA provides power to 153 local power companies (TVA rates page). TVA’s transmission system stretches 16,400 miles (TVA transmission page).
TVA’s power portfolio also shows the program’s scale in operational terms. TVA’s power portfolio includes 29 hydro plants (TVA power system). TVA’s power portfolio includes 3 nuclear plants (TVA power system). TVA’s power portfolio includes 4 coal plants (TVA power system). TVA’s power portfolio includes 17 natural gas plants (TVA power system). TVA’s power portfolio includes 9 solar energy sites (TVA power system). TVA operates 1 pumped-storage hydroelectric plant (TVA power system). TVA operates 5,000 megawatts of long-term contracted assets (TVA power system). TVA plans an additional 3,000+ megawatts of contracted assets by the mid-2030s (TVA power system). TVA has nearly 1,700 megawatts of savings from energy efficiency and demand response programs (TVA power system). TVA plans to save more than 2,800 megawatts through 2030 (TVA power system).
These are not abstract infrastructure claims. They are the measured footprint of a regional utility created in the New Deal era and still operating at modern scale.
Social Security and labor protections
The New Deal’s social policy numbers are smaller in count than the banking and employment figures, but they describe foundational institutional design.
The Social Security Act of 1935 contained 10 separate programs (SSA history). Nine of those programs were administered by the states (SSA history). Employers could receive a credit of up to 90% of the federal unemployment tax for state-law contributions (SSA history). The Social Security Act was approved on August 14, 1935 (SSA history). Under the original law, payroll taxes were scheduled to start in 1937 (SSA history). Monthly benefits were scheduled to start in 1942 (SSA history). The 1% tax rate continued until 1950 after later amendments delayed increases (SSA history).
Those points matter because they show the Social Security Act as both immediate legislation and delayed implementation. The approval date is one thing. The payroll tax schedule and benefit schedule show the law was designed to phase in over time (SSA history).
The employer credit is another revealing detail. A credit of up to 90% of the federal unemployment tax for state-law contributions created a strong incentive for state-level participation (SSA history). That kind of policy design helped bind together federal and state roles rather than replacing one with the other.
In the New Deal data set, Social Security is less about a single headline figure and more about program architecture. Ten separate programs, nine state-administered, with staggered tax and benefit timing, indicate a system built to last and to spread administrative responsibility (SSA history).
New Deal-scale federal institutions
One way to understand the New Deal is to look at the institutions it created and how long they kept operating. The statistics show agencies that were not only emergency responses but durable structures.
The Federal Housing Administration has insured over 50 million mortgages since 1934 (HUD). TVA now serves more than 10 million people across seven states (TVA). The FDIC began with 12,551 insured commercial banks and about $11 billion in insured deposits on its first day (FDIC history). The FDIC handled nine insured bank failures during 1934 (FDIC history). The Works Progress Administration employed more than 8 million people across its eight-year history (Archives product page). The Civilian Conservation Corps ultimately had more than 2.5 million men serve (National Archives).
The New Deal’s cultural and documentary footprint is also large. The FSA/OWI black-and-white negatives collection contains about 175,000 negatives (Library of Congress). The same FSA/OWI collection includes about 107,000 photographic prints (Library of Congress). The collection includes about 1,610 color transparencies (Library of Congress collection page). The FSA/OWI color photograph set includes approximately 1,600 color photographs (Library of Congress). The broader FSA/OWI photographic record includes about 171,000 black-and-white photographs (Library of Congress). The FSA/OWI collection was produced between 1939 and 1944 for the color subset (Library of Congress). The main FSA/OWI collection dates from 1935 to 1945 (Library of Congress). The FSA/FSA-OWI collection includes 140 photographers (Library of Congress). The FSA historical project produced 164,000 photographs between 1935 and 1942 (Library of Congress bulletin). The FSA-OWI collection is often described as over 270,000 photographs documenting rural and urban life (Library of Congress essay).
These records matter because they show the New Deal was not only administrative. It was also documented at scale, through a photographic archive that captured both rural and urban life in hundreds of thousands of images.
What the statistics show together
The strongest pattern across the New Deal statistics is breadth. The same era produced banking guarantees, rural electrification, housing finance, public works, social insurance, and a major river-valley utility.
A few comparisons stand out.
- Banking stabilization moved quickly: 12,551 insured banks on FDIC’s first day and about $11 billion in insured deposits (FDIC history).
- Employment programs were huge: almost 3.5 million WPA workers at peak and more than 8 million over the WPA’s full run (Archives product page).
- Infrastructure programs were persistent: TVA now serves more than 10 million people across seven states (TVA).
- Housing reform became long-lived: FHA has insured over 50 million mortgages since 1934 (HUD).
- Rural modernization unfolded over decades: from about 10 percent rural electrification in the 1930s to more than 90 percent farm electricity and telephone service by the mid-1970s (USDA).
The data also show that New Deal policy was not a single line of action. It was a layered response to crisis that combined emergency banking rules, mass employment, long-term utility construction, housing support, and social insurance.
If you want one statistical takeaway, it is this: the New Deal was large enough to be measured in banks, billions of dollars, millions of workers, tens of millions of mortgages, and a multi-decade transformation of rural life.