Nearly 70% of the US government’s debt is domestic

About 80% of US debt is held by domestic and foreign investors.

The US has carried debt since 1791

After the Revolutionary War, the US owed $75M to nations like France. Debt builds when spending exceeds revenue, funding programs, wars, and economic recovery efforts. Most debt is domestic, like Social Security bonds, with foreign nations also holding a share.

If the US government paid off its debt, it could disrupt the entire bond market, as Treasury bonds are among the most common bonds for investors and the majority of the national debt is in bonds.

The national debt consists of public debt and intragovernmental debt.

See a chart showing how much the US federal government pays in interest on its debt.

The national debt is the total amount the US government owes its creditors

This US Treasury page explains what the national debt is, how it accumulates from annual deficits, and why rising debt can affect interest costs, fiscal flexibility, and long-term economic stability.

Investors collectively owned $28T in US Treasury securities as of 2025.

Treasury bonds, notes, and bills are critical vehicles for the federal government to raise money for public expenses and manage the national debt.

Explore a database that shows how the US national debt changes over a 24-hour period.

Tax policy can have a direct impact on the national debt, with past presidents' changes to tax codes inflating the deficit.

In 2025, the US national debt per person was $113K.

The US debt ceiling is the threshold Congress sets for federal borrowing.

Individual income taxes are the federal government's primary revenue source, see a tracker that breaks down where the rest of the budget comes from

The US government historically makes nearly half of its total revenue last year from individual income taxes. But the US makes also makes money from a variety of other sources, including Medicare taxes and corporate income taxes. However, the federal government has run a deficit since 2001—reaching a peak of $3.13T in 2020.

The federal deficit is the gap between what the US spends and what it collects.

Total national debt as of yesterday

Debt to the Penny is the total debt of the U.S. government and is reported daily. It is made up of intragovernmental holdings and debt held by the public.

The federal government has spent more money annually than it has collected every year since 2022.

Roughly 22% of US tax dollars go to Social Security

Social security is the US government’s largest expense. You can see other government expenses in a visual breakdown of what one US tax dollar actually pays for. Total spending amounts were converted to cents on the dollar and percentages.

For everyday Americans, a relatively high national debt can lead to higher interest rates on financial products such as mortgages.

Some economists argue that the national debt is not a critical concern.

The US government is legally allowed to borrow money from the Social Security Trust Fund surpluses as long as it issues Treasury bonds to the Trust Fund in return and repays those bonds with interest when Social Security needs the money to pay benefits.

Roughly 43 million Americans hold a cumulative $1.6T in federal student debt

About 43 million Americans hold a cumulative $1.6T in federal student debt. That's more than the country's combined credit card balance, according to data from in the first quarter of the year 2024.

Many local governments also struggle to rein in their spending.

In 2025, the US credit rating was downgraded over concerns about the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Some argue that the rising US national debt has become more important in recent months.

The average US household carries $105,056 in total debt

This article breaks down the average household debt by category, including credit card debt ($6,523), personal loans ($11,274), and more.

The current federal budget, deficit, and debt, in charts

The US Treasury regularly publishes updated data on the federal budget, and this site hosts visualizations of that data. See reports on spending, revenues, deficits, and where the national debt stands.

Does Social Security contribute to the national debt?

Social Security operates through a trust fund built from payroll taxes. When costs outpace revenue, as they have since 2021, the program redeems Treasury bonds to cover the gap. To repay these bonds, the government often borrows more money, indirectly adding to the national debt and impacting fiscal policy.

The national debt is growing at a faster rate than the economy.

Key moments that shaped the national debt include the Civil War, both World Wars, the 2008 recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly half of the discretionary funding in the US is allocated to national defense.

The US national debt is over $31T

The US national debt is at its highest level ever. Learn how the national debt grew to that level and what it means for US economic growth with charts and simple explanations.

Credit cards were the fourth-highest source of US consumer debt as of 2024

US consumer debt nationwide totaled $17.9T as of 2024 Q3. Mortgage debt ranked as number one, with student loan debt coming in at number two.

America’s looming debt spiral

The United States has a debt problem. In 1989, the national debt was almost $3T. As of 2023, that number had ballooned to more than $30T. This video explains why the national debt grew so quickly, and what America's options are going forward. It also explores why the problem is trapped in political gridlock. Watch it to find out more.

Just 7% of student loan borrowers account for 40% of outstanding student loan debt

Most student loan debt went to support graduate studies. Total student loan debt in the US is more than $1.6T. Downloadable tables show the raw data behind federal student aid.

The US and Denmark are the only two countries known to abide by a predetermined borrowing limit.

One in seven US tax dollars is collected by local governments

Local governments collect about $886B each year to support education, infrastructure, and public health. Roughly three-quarters of this funding comes from property taxes, with the rest sourced from sales, excise, and income taxes.

In 2020, government entities spent $316.5B on infrastructure, with state and local governments accounting for 34.8% of that amount.

Stablecoins like USDC are backed by real assets including US Treasurys and cash

While Tether (USDT) is primarily backed by US Treasury bills (64.9%), USDC is mostly backed by US Treasury repurchase agreements (49.6%). USDC also goes by the name Circle, given that it is owned by the company Circle Internet Financial.

Despite being one of the world's richest nations, Switzerland has the highest household debt of any country in the world, totaling 125% of its GDP.

Track how much the US government has spent on bailouts.

See the growth of US consumer debt

Americans reached an all-time high debt burden in 2024. Data compiled from The Kaplan Group shows the evolution of auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt, and student loans from 2003 to 2023, and finds that after a brief decline after 2008, the total debt burden grew rapidly.

More than half of student loan borrowers owed less than $25K in federally managed student debt as of 2024.

Why Ray Dalio thinks the US deficit is a political problem

Dalio frequently argues that debt cycles are inevitable and a tradition of every empire. However, he said in 2025 that the US was headed for a debt crisis. Dalio says that while Republicans and Democrats agree on the math of the debt crisis, all politicians make promises to neither increase taxes nor cut government benefits—which Dalio says can't close the deficit.

Vizualize global debt by country

Global debt reached $226T by the end of 2020—the biggest one-year jump since World War II. This graphic compares the debt-to-GDP ratio of various countries.

Use this calculator to find out the programs and services your federal income taxes fund.

.

The debt ceiling is a legal cap on how much money the US government can borrow.

Visualize $102T of global debt, based on data from the International Monetary Fund's October 2024 outlook.

Visualizing the world's $261T in investable assets

Nearly half of the world's portfolio of stocks and bonds originate in the US. Roughly 1% of all investable assets are in the form of cryptocurrency.

Charting where federal revenue comes from

About 50 percent of federal revenue comes from individual income taxes, 7 percent from corporate income taxes, and another 36 percent from payroll taxes that fund social insurance programs. See breakdown in charts here.

About one dollar in every six that are owed to the federal government aren't paid each year

That adds up to close to $1T in what's known as the "tax gap." Read a breakdown on the main drivers of tax evasion (distinct from legal tax avoidance) in the US.