US federal debt, 1993 to 2026
US federal debt stood at $39.59T in 2026, up 0.3% on the previous period.
The latest reading is $39.4 trillion, for July 2026, against $39.5 trillion the period before. The data comes directly from the US Treasury's Fiscal Data service, the government's own ledger, and runs from April 1993.
How it is measured
The Treasury's Debt to the Penny series: total public debt outstanding, updated every business day to the cent. It is the sum of debt held by the public, the marketable Treasuries investors trade, and intragovernmental holdings, the IOUs the government has written to its own trust funds.
What the curve shows
The total stands at $39.4 trillion, from $4.25 trillion at the window's start. The two components tell different stories: debt held by the public is what the government owes markets; the intragovernmental piece is an internal ledger between programs.
Why does the debt rise even in good years?
Who owns it?
Make this chart yours.
Open it in the editor with the data already loaded. Brand it, animate it, embed it.