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Length of State of the Union Addresses in Minutes (from 1964)

President
 Date Format Minutes
Lyndon B. Johnson

average

 0:50:38
  January 8, 1964 spoken 0:40:50
  January 4, 1965 spoken 0:47:10
  January 12, 1966 spoken 0:50:36
  January 10, 1967 spoken 1:11:16
  January 17, 1968 spoken 0:50:13
  January 14, 1969 spoken 0:43:41
Richard Nixon average spoken 0:35:26
  January 22, 1970 spoken 0:36:40
  January 22, 1971 spoken 0:33:17
  January 20, 1972 spoken 0:28:55
  February 2, 1973 written NR
  January 30, 1974 spoken 0:42:51
Gerald R. Ford

average

 0:45:31
  January 15, 1975 spoken 0:41:00
  January 19, 1976 spoken 0:50:38
  January 12, 1977 spoken 0:44:55
Jimmy Carter average spoken apx. 0:36:53
  January 19, 1978 spoken 0:46:04
  January 25, 1979 spoken 0:32:32
  January 21, 1980 spoken 0:32:04
  January 16, 1981 written NR
Ronald Reagan

average (ex. 1981)

 apx. 0:40:00
1981 NOT a "State of the Union" February 18, 1981 spoken not measured
  January 26, 1982 spoken 0:40:14
  January 25, 1983 spoken apx. 46 min.
  January 25, 1984 spoken 0:43:02
  February 6, 1985 spoken apx. 40 min.
  February 4, 1986 spoken apx. 31 min.
  January 27, 1987 spoken 0:34:39
  January 25, 1988 spoken apx. 44 min.
George Bush average (ex. 1989) 0:45:32
1989 NOT a "State of the Union" February 9, 1989 spoken 0:48:14
  January 31, 1990 spoken 0:35:43
  January 29, 1991 spoken 0:47:10
  January 28, 1992 spoken 0:51:04
William J. Clinton

average (ex. 1993)

 1:14:51
1993 NOT a "State of the Union" February 17, 1993 spoken 1:05:31
  January 25, 1994 spoken 1:03:44
  January 24, 1995 spoken 1:24:58
  January 23, 1996 spoken 1:06:41
  February 4, 1997 spoken 1:04:21
  January 27, 1998 spoken 1:16:43
  January 19, 1999 spoken 1:18:40
  January 27, 2000 spoken 1:28:49
George W. Bush average (ex. 2001) 0:52:35
2001 NOT a "State of the Union" February 27, 2001 spoken 0:49:10
  January 29, 2002 spoken 0:47:49
  January 28, 2003 spoken 0:59:35
  January 20, 2004 spoken 0:53:55
  February 2, 2005 spoken 0:53:20
  January 31, 2006 spoken 0:51:08
  January 23, 2007 spoken 0:49:24
  January 28, 2008 spoken 0:52:56
Barack Obama

average (ex. 2009)

 1:02:45
2009 NOT a "State of the Union" February 24, 2009 spoken 0:51:44
  January 27, 2010 spoken 1:09:20
  January 25, 2011 spoken 1:01:34
  January 24, 2012 spoken 1:04:44
  February 12, 2013 spoken 0:59:51
  January 28, 2014 spoken 1:05:07
  January 20, 2015 spoken 0:59:57
  January 12, 2016 spoken 0:58:44
Donald J. Trump - I

average (ex. 2017)

 1:20:20
2017 NOT a "State of the Union" February 28, 2017 spoken 1:00:10
  January 30, 2018 spoken 1:20:32
  February 5, 2019 spoken 1:22:25
  February 4, 2020 spoken 1:18:04
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

average (ex. 2021)

 1:07:22
2021 NOT a "State of the Union" April 28, 2021 spoken 1:05:08
  March 1, 2022 spoken 1:01:50
  February 7, 2023 spoken 1:13:00
  March 7, 2024 spoken 1:07:17
Donald J. Trump - II average (ex. 2025) TBD
2025 NOT a "State of the Union" March 4, 2025 spoken 1:39:32
start time generally begins when the President states, "Mr. or Madam Speaker..."

 

Citation: Gerhard Peters. "Length of State of the Union Addresses in Minutes (from 1966)." The American Presidency Project. Ed. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California. 1999-2025. Available from the World Wide Web: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/324136/.