Article · Rates and debt
US national debt
The debt of the US federal government was $40.56T on November 5, 2026 — $118,516 for every person in the country. It grew by $2.46T over the past 12 months, about $6.75B a day. The first trillion dollars took 192 years to build up; the latest took 154 days.
$40,556,120,784,983.65; +$2.46T in 12 months (6.5%)
$40.6T ÷ 342.2 million people (2026)
average of the last 12 months; $78.2K a second
reached on Aug 18, 2026; the first trillion took 192 years
general government; No. 11 of 191 countries, highest first
$40.56T on November 5, 2026
This is the total public debt outstanding: every Treasury security the federal government has issued and not yet repaid, as the Treasury reports it each business day. It includes $7.79T that the government owes to its own trust funds; the debt held by the public is $32.77T.
A year earlier, on November 5, 2025, it was $38.09T: +$2.46T (6.5%) in 12 months. The biggest one-day rise since 1993 was +$366B on July 7, 2025: the debt can stay flat for months while the debt limit binds, then jump when the limit is raised or suspended.
Every trillion, faster
From the first record in 1790 it took 192 years, to October 1981, for the debt to reach its first trillion dollars. The second took 4.6 years. The latest, from $39 trillion on March 17, 2026 to $40 trillion on August 18, 2026, took 154 days.
The fastest was the 25th trillion: 28 days, to May 5, 2020. These are dollars of their day: a dollar of 1981 bought about 3.6 times what a dollar buys now, so part of the speed-up is inflation. At the pace of the last 12 months the next trillion, $41T, is $0.44T and about 66 days away.
Every trillion as a table
| Trillion | First reached | Took |
|---|---|---|
| $40T | Aug 18, 2026 | 154 days |
| $39T | Mar 17, 2026 | 147 days |
| $38T | Oct 21, 2025 | 71 days |
| $37T | Aug 11, 2025 | 263 days |
| $36T | Nov 21, 2024 | 118 days |
| $35T | Jul 26, 2024 | 210 days |
| $34T | Dec 29, 2023 | 105 days |
| $33T | Sep 15, 2023 | 92 days |
| $32T | Jun 15, 2023 | 255 days |
| $31T | Oct 3, 2022 | 245 days |
| $30T | Jan 31, 2022 | 46 days |
| $29T | Dec 16, 2021 | 290 days |
| $28T | Mar 1, 2021 | 151 days |
| $27T | Oct 1, 2020 | 114 days |
| $26T | Jun 9, 2020 | 35 days |
| $25T | May 5, 2020 | 28 days |
| $24T | Apr 7, 2020 | 159 days |
| $23T | Oct 31, 2019 | 262 days |
| $22T | Feb 11, 2019 | 333 days |
| $21T | Mar 15, 2018 | 188 days |
| $20T | Sep 8, 2017 | 588 days |
| $19T | Jan 29, 2016 | 427 days |
| $18T | Nov 28, 2014 | 407 days |
| $17T | Oct 17, 2013 | 412 days |
| $16T | Aug 31, 2012 | 290 days |
| $15T | Nov 15, 2011 | 319 days |
| $14T | Dec 31, 2010 | 213 days |
| $13T | Jun 1, 2010 | 197 days |
| $12T | Nov 16, 2009 | 245 days |
| $11T | Mar 16, 2009 | 167 days |
| $10T | Sep 30, 2008 | 396 days |
| $9T | Aug 31, 2007 | 682 days |
| $8T | Oct 18, 2005 | 642 days |
| $7T | Jan 15, 2004 | 688 days |
| $6T | Feb 26, 2002 | 6.0 years |
| $5T | Feb 23, 1996 | 3.6 years |
| $4T | Aug 4, 1992* | 2.5 years |
| $3T | Feb 19, 1990* | 3.8 years |
| $2T | May 8, 1986* | 4.6 years |
| $1T | Oct 6, 1981* | 191.8 years |
* Estimated between two fiscal-year ends, assuming steady growth; later dates are the first business day at or above the trillion (Debt to the Penny).
How fast the debt grows
Over the last 12 months the debt grew by $2.46T: about $6.75B a day, $281M an hour, $78.2K a second. Over the ten fiscal years from 2016 to 2026 it grew 7.5% a year on average.
The largest rise in a single fiscal year was $4.23T, in 2020; in fiscal 2026 it rose $2.53T (6.7%). Since 1940 the debt shrank in 5 fiscal years, the last time in 1957.
Debt per person since 1790
In 1790 the debt was $71.1M, about $18.09 per person. In 1835 it was all but paid off: $33.7K in total, 0.23 cents per person. Today it is $118,516 per person.
In today's dollars, the debt per person after World War II (1946) was $34,220; today's is about 3.46 times that. US prices in this data start in 1871, so the today's-dollar line starts there ($1,652 per person).
| Fiscal year end | Debt | Per person | Per person, today's dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 1790the first record | $71.1M | $18.09 | — |
| Jan 1, 1835the lowest ever | $33.7K | 0.23 cents | — |
| Jul 1, 1866after the Civil War | $2.77B | $78.04 | — |
| Jul 1, 1919after World War I | $27.4B | $262 | $5,058 |
| Jun 28, 1946after World War II | $269B | $1,906 | $34,220 |
| Sep 30, 1982the first year end above $1 trillion | $1.14T | $4,907 | $16,830 |
| Sep 30, 2026the latest fiscal year end | $40.2T | $117,393 | $117,486 |
| Nov 5, 2026the latest day | $40.6T | $118,516 | $118,516 |
Who holds the debt
Of every $100 of the debt, $81 is held by the public — investors at home and abroad, banks, funds, the Federal Reserve, foreign governments — and $19 by the government's own trust funds, such as Social Security: money the government owes itself.
On September 30, 1997, the first date with the split in this data, the trust funds held 30% of the total.
held by the public (81%)
intragovernmental: federal trust funds (19%)
The US among the world's countries
Against the size of its economy, US government debt — federal, state and local together, the IMF's general government gross debt — was 124% of GDP in 2025: No. 11 of 191 countries, highest first. 22 countries were above 100%; the median country was at 53%.
Among the 12 largest economies the US ranked 3rd; Japan was the highest, at 205%. Japan was also the highest of all 191 countries. In dollars, the US government owes more than any other.
| Economy | Debt, % of GDP | GDP | Rank of 191 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japan | 205%* | $4.5T | 1 |
 Italy | 137% | $2.6T | 8 |
 United States | 124% | $30.9T | 11 |
 France | 116% | $3.4T | 12 |
 Canada | 114% | $2.3T | 14 |
 United Kingdom | 102% | $4.0T | 19 |
 Spain | 100% | $1.9T | 21 |
 China | 99% | $19.6T | 24 |
 Brazil | 93% | $2.3T | 29 |
 India | 84%* | $3.9T | 37 |
 Germany | 63% | $5.1T | 70 |
 Russian Federation | 17% | $2.6T | 177 |
* IMF estimate: no reported figure for 2025 yet. GDP in current US dollars, 2025.
Questions people ask
How much is the US national debt right now?
$40,556,120,784,983.65 on November 5, 2026 (total public debt outstanding): $32.77T held by the public and $7.79T held by federal trust funds.
How fast is the national debt growing?
By $2.46T over the 12 months to November 5, 2026: about $6.75B a day, or $78.2K a second. The latest trillion took 154 days.
How much is the national debt per person?
$118,516: $40.56T divided by 342.2 million people (2026). In 1790 it was $18.09 per person.
Who owns the US national debt?
81% is held by the public — investors, banks, funds, the Federal Reserve, foreign governments — and 19% by federal trust funds such as Social Security.
How does US debt compare with other countries?
Against GDP, US general government debt was 124% in 2025, No. 11 of 191 countries; Japan was the highest at 205%. In dollars, the US government owes more than any other.
Go deeper
How the numbers are calculated
- Data: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data: Debt to the Penny (every business day since 1993) and Historical Debt Outstanding (fiscal year ends since 1790); public domain.
- Every trillion: the first business day the total reached it; before April 1993 (the first four trillions) the date is estimated between two fiscal-year ends, assuming steady growth. The first trillion is counted from the first record, January 1, 1790. Dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation.
- Pace: the change of the total over the last 12 months of Debt to the Penny, divided by its days (and hours, seconds). Fiscal years ended on June 30 until 1976 and on September 30 since 1977.
- Per person: the debt ÷ the US population of that time: U.S. Census Bureau counts for 1790–1880, then yearly figures from Robert J. Shiller's US home price data (U.S. Home Price and Related data, for Figure 3.1 in Robert J. Shiller, Irrational Exuberance, 3rd ed., Princeton University Press, 2015, as updated by author); between them the population grows evenly. The latest year is provisional.
- Today's dollars: the amount × US consumer prices (CPI, from Robert J. Shiller's data) of Oct 2026 ÷ those of its month; prices start in 1871.
- Countries: Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026), general government gross debt (% of GDP) and GDP in US dollars, for 2025, the last year before the IMF's projections. General government includes states and local governments, so it is not the same total as the federal debt above.
- The Treasury's notes: the debt is counted in dollars of the day, business days only; it can stay flat while the debt limit binds and jump when the limit is raised or suspended.
- Flags: flag-icons by Panayiotis Lipiridis (MIT License).
- History, not a forecast. Nothing here is investment advice.