US federal debt (FRED), 1966 to 2026
US federal debt (FRED) stood at $39.1M in 2026, up 1.4% on the previous period.
The latest reading is $39.1 trillion, for January 2026, against $38.5 trillion in October 2025. The series is quarterly (FRED series GFDEBTN) and runs from January 1966.
How it is measured
Total public debt outstanding of the US federal government, quarterly, in millions of dollars: everything the Treasury owes, including both debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings such as the Social Security trust funds. The data reaches us through FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's data service, and originates with the Treasury.
What the curve shows
The debt stands at $39.1 trillion as of January 2026, from $321 billion at the window's start. Steps up cluster around recessions and crises, when revenues fall and relief spending rises; the daily-resolution view lives in the US Treasury source pages alongside this one.
Is this the same as debt held by the public?
How does this compare to the economy?
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