Most people don't understand that the economy growing overall doesn't say much about the quality of life for individual people. Denmark and Germany are not worse places to live than Bulgaria or the USA, respectively, merely because their economies grew more slowly. Also, the smaller and weaker an economy is, the faster and easier it will grow once stimulated (such as with Euro entry) or liberated / gaining market entry. That is why Germany had the massive Wirtschaftswunder after WWII. Once you adjust for purchasing power, the EU and the USA are roughly even for the entire time span between 2007 and 2024.

Europe v America: Who’s Really Winning?

A wonkish but important discussion

In other words, the US economy grew largely due to a handful of tech companies. The gains of that growth went directly to the owners of those companies and indirectly to the users of their products (just as likely to be in the EU as the USA or anywhere else). Americans didn't become better off just because Amazon had some good years. Everyone using Amazon products became better off and the Amazon shareholders became much better off. All you have to do is travel between Bavaria and Texas (two of the best places in Germany and the USA, with the same low 4% unemployment and beautiful nature and warm climates and delicious food and drink), and stay in normal people's houses and shop in normal grocery stores, to see that Texans don't have a higher living standard than Bavarians. Even in the countryside, rents, groceries, utilities, education, gasoline, insurance, _absolutely everything_ costs way more than here. And people commonly have a gigantic SUV or truck, but then they drive over an hour to their workplace, one way. Often with no vacation, no sick leave, etc. What the GDP does tell us is that the USA has much more economic power/leverage than the EU, as they completely dominate the fastest-growing sector. At least, until the Chinese catch up.