US debt held by the public, 1997 to 2026
US debt held by the public stood at $31.82T in 2026, up 0.4% on the previous period.
The latest reading is $31.7 trillion, for July 2026, against $31.7 trillion the period before. The data comes directly from the US Treasury's Fiscal Data service, the government's own ledger, and runs from September 1997.
How it is measured
The portion of federal debt held by investors outside the government itself: individuals, funds, banks, foreign central banks, and the Federal Reserve. This is the economically meaningful debt figure, the amount actually borrowed from markets, from the Treasury's daily Debt to the Penny series.
What the curve shows
Debt held by the public stands at $31.7 trillion, from $3.79 trillion at the window's start. Economists prefer this measure to the gross total because money the government owes its own trust funds nets out inside the public sector.
Why exclude intragovernmental debt?
Does the Federal Reserve count as the public?
Make this chart yours.
Open it in the editor with the data already loaded. Brand it, animate it, embed it.