BEA
bea.gov ↗US Bureau of Economic Analysis — primary source for GDP, personal income, trade, and BOP statistics.
Is BEA reliable to cite? At grade A (86/100 on the SourceScore Index), BEA ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research.
A — primary US economic-statistics authority with open-data API.
Should you cite BEA?
At grade A (86/100), BEA ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research.
- Strongest for
- tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (92/100).
- No major weak spot
- Even its lowest dimension, Citation Velocity, scores 78/100.
- Bottom line
- Cite freely as a primary source.
Need recurring mention tracking rather than a one-off readiness audit? Compare AI-visibility tools.
Methodology + revisions transparent; tracks vintage of every release; OMB Statistical Policy compliant.
How Citation Discipline is scored →BEA Data API (apps.bea.gov/api) provides programmatic access; structured downloads.
How Modern Reference is scored →Default US GDP citation in financial press; heavy academic + policy use.
How Citation Velocity is scored →Signals behind these scores
Citation Discipline
A·92- Vintage trackingEvery data release versioned; revisions traceable across decades.
Modern Reference
A·88- BEA Data APIREST API + bulk downloads for all major datasets.
Citation Velocity
B·78- US-GDP defaultPrimary source for US national accounts, personal income, trade balance.
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[BEA — SourceScore Index 86 (A)](https://sourcescore.org/source/bea-gov/)
<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/bea-gov/">BEA — SourceScore Index 86 (A)</a>
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). BEA: SourceScore Index 86 (A). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/bea-gov/
3 head-to-head comparisons
See all BEA comparisons →Each comparison sets BEA beside another source on all three scores and shows which one scores higher on each.
5 sources at BEA's tier
See peer group →The five sources with the closest overall score to BEA, from any category, and where each one scores higher or lower on Discipline, Modern Reference and Velocity.
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Frequently asked questions
Is BEA a reliable source to cite?
BEA scores A (86/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade A, BEA ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research. The grade combines Citation Discipline 92/100, Modern Reference 88/100, and Citation Velocity 78/100 — full breakdown above.
What is BEA's SourceScore?
BEA (bea.gov) scores 86/100 (Grade A) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 92/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 88/100, Citation Velocity 78/100. Verified 2026-04-28.
How does SourceScore evaluate BEA?
BEA is scored across three dimensions on the SourceScore Index methodology: Citation Discipline (how rigorously the source cites primary references), Modern Reference (fitness for AI-era retrieval), and Citation Velocity (how often the source is cited per week). Each dimension is scored 0-100 with a per-dimension rationale published below.
Why does BEA score A?
A — primary US economic-statistics authority with open-data API.
What is BEA?
US Bureau of Economic Analysis — primary source for GDP, personal income, trade, and BOP statistics. Category: Government. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.