Special Feature · US Debt
A History of Debt in the United States
On this page you will find a history of the national debt balance of the United States, from 1791, with fiscal year-end balances through 2026 and the current Treasury balance.
$40.44T
Current balance (October 22, 2026): $40,444,342,709,389 · U.S. Treasury, Debt to the Penny
1791First year-end balance on record
2026Latest completed fiscal year in the table
2024 $Real dollars (CPI-U conversion factors, 2024 = 1)
01US Debt Balance Over Time
Nominal DollarsReal Dollars (2024)
End of fiscal year balances. Source: TreasuryDirect.gov; inflation conversion factors from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U annual averages, 2024 = 1; fiscal 2026 uses the latest monthly CPI-U, September 2026; years before 1913 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis historical CPI).
02Historical End of Fiscal Year US Debt Balances 1791-2026
| Year | Nominal Dollars | Real Dollars (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| 1791 | $75,463,477 | $1,840,000,000 |
| 1792 | $77,227,925 | $1,720,000,000 |
| 1793 | $80,358,634 | $1,790,000,000 |
| 1794 | $78,427,405 | $1,630,000,000 |
| 1795 | $80,747,587 | $1,500,000,000 |
| 1796 | $83,762,172 | $1,470,000,000 |
| 1797 | $82,064,479 | $1,520,000,000 |
| 1798 | $79,228,529 | $1,550,000,000 |
| 1799 | $78,408,670 | $1,540,000,000 |
| 1800 | $82,976,294 | $1,540,000,000 |
| 1801 | $83,038,051 | $1,570,000,000 |
| 1802 | $80,712,632 | $1,750,000,000 |
| 1803 | $77,054,686 | $1,610,000,000 |
| 1804 | $86,427,121 | $1,800,000,000 |
| 1805 | $82,312,151 | $1,710,000,000 |
| 1806 | $75,723,271 | $1,510,000,000 |
| 1807 | $69,218,399 | $1,470,000,000 |
| 1808 | $65,196,318 | $1,280,000,000 |
| 1809 | $57,023,192 | $1,140,000,000 |
| 1810 | $53,173,218 | $1,060,000,000 |
| 1811 | $48,005,588 | $906,000,000 |
| 1812 | $45,209,738 | $837,000,000 |
| 1813 | $55,962,828 | $903,000,000 |
| 1814 | $81,487,846 | $1,220,000,000 |
| 1815 | $99,833,660 | $1,720,000,000 |
| 1816 | $127,334,934 | $2,360,000,000 |
| 1817 | $123,491,965 | $2,420,000,000 |
| 1818 | $103,466,634 | $2,110,000,000 |
| 1819 | $95,529,648 | $1,950,000,000 |
| 1820 | $91,015,566 | $2,020,000,000 |
| 1821 | $89,987,428 | $2,140,000,000 |
| 1822 | $93,546,677 | $2,230,000,000 |
| 1823 | $90,875,877 | $2,390,000,000 |
| 1824 | $90,269,778 | $2,580,000,000 |
| 1825 | $83,788,433 | $2,330,000,000 |
| 1826 | $81,054,060 | $2,250,000,000 |
| 1827 | $73,987,357 | $2,060,000,000 |
| 1828 | $67,475,044 | $1,930,000,000 |
| 1829 | $58,421,414 | $1,720,000,000 |
| 1830 | $48,565,407 | $1,430,000,000 |
| 1831 | $39,123,192 | $1,150,000,000 |
| 1832 | $24,322,235 | $760,000,000 |
| 1833 | $7,001,699 | $226,000,000 |
| 1834 | $4,760,082 | $149,000,000 |
| 1835 | $33,733 | $1,020,000 |
| 1836 | $37,513 | $1,070,000 |
| 1837 | $336,958 | $9,360,000 |
| 1838 | $3,308,124 | $97,300,000 |
| 1839 | $10,434,221 | $307,000,000 |
| 1840 | $3,573,344 | $112,000,000 |
| 1841 | $5,250,876 | $159,000,000 |
| 1842 | $13,594,481 | $439,000,000 |
| 1843 (Jan 1) | $20,201,226 | $673,000,000 |
| 1843 (Jul 1) | $32,742,922 | $1,090,000,000 |
| 1844 | $23,461,653 | $782,000,000 |
| 1845 | $15,925,303 | $531,000,000 |
| 1846 | $15,550,203 | $536,000,000 |
| 1847 | $38,826,535 | $1,290,000,000 |
| 1848 | $47,044,862 | $1,680,000,000 |
| 1849 | $63,061,859 | $2,340,000,000 |
| 1850 | $63,452,774 | $2,350,000,000 |
| 1851 | $68,304,796 | $2,530,000,000 |
| 1852 | $66,199,342 | $2,450,000,000 |
| 1853 | $59,803,118 | $2,210,000,000 |
| 1854 | $42,242,222 | $1,460,000,000 |
| 1855 | $35,586,957 | $1,190,000,000 |
| 1856 | $31,972,538 | $1,100,000,000 |
| 1857 | $28,699,832 | $957,000,000 |
| 1858 | $44,911,881 | $1,600,000,000 |
| 1859 | $58,496,838 | $2,020,000,000 |
| 1860 | $64,842,288 | $2,240,000,000 |
| 1861 | $90,580,874 | $3,120,000,000 |
| 1862 | $524,176,412 | $16,400,000,000 |
| 1863 | $1,119,772,139 | $28,700,000,000 |
| 1864 | $1,815,784,371 | $36,300,000,000 |
| 1865 | $2,680,647,870 | $54,700,000,000 |
| 1866 | $2,773,236,174 | $59,000,000,000 |
| 1867 | $2,678,126,104 | $59,500,000,000 |
| 1868 | $2,611,687,851 | $62,200,000,000 |
| 1869 | $2,588,452,214 | $61,600,000,000 |
| 1870 | $2,480,672,428 | $62,000,000,000 |
| 1871 | $2,353,211,332 | $61,900,000,000 |
| 1872 | $2,253,251,329 | $59,300,000,000 |
| 1873 | $2,234,482,993 | $58,800,000,000 |
| 1874 | $2,251,690,468 | $62,500,000,000 |
| 1875 | $2,232,284,532 | $63,800,000,000 |
| 1876 | $2,180,395,067 | $64,100,000,000 |
| 1877 | $2,205,301,392 | $64,900,000,000 |
| 1878 | $2,256,205,893 | $72,800,000,000 |
| 1879 | $2,349,567,482 | $78,300,000,000 |
| 1880 | $2,120,415,371 | $68,400,000,000 |
| 1881 | $2,069,013,570 | $66,700,000,000 |
| 1882 | $1,918,312,994 | $61,900,000,000 |
| 1883 | $1,884,171,728 | $62,800,000,000 |
| 1884 | $1,830,528,924 | $63,100,000,000 |
| 1885 | $1,863,964,873 | $64,300,000,000 |
| 1886 | $1,775,063,014 | $61,200,000,000 |
| 1887 | $1,657,602,593 | $57,200,000,000 |
| 1888 | $1,692,858,985 | $58,400,000,000 |
| 1889 | $1,619,052,922 | $55,800,000,000 |
| 1890 | $1,552,140,205 | $53,500,000,000 |
| 1891 | $1,545,996,592 | $53,300,000,000 |
| 1892 | $1,588,464,145 | $54,800,000,000 |
| 1893 | $1,545,985,686 | $53,300,000,000 |
| 1894 | $1,632,253,637 | $58,300,000,000 |
| 1895 | $1,676,120,983 | $62,100,000,000 |
| 1896 | $1,769,840,323 | $65,500,000,000 |
| 1897 | $1,817,672,666 | $67,300,000,000 |
| 1898 | $1,796,531,996 | $66,500,000,000 |
| 1899 | $1,991,927,307 | $73,800,000,000 |
| 1900 | $2,136,961,092 | $79,100,000,000 |
| 1901 | $2,143,326,934 | $79,400,000,000 |
| 1902 | $2,158,610,446 | $77,100,000,000 |
| 1903 | $2,202,464,782 | $75,900,000,000 |
| 1904 | $2,264,003,585 | $78,100,000,000 |
| 1905 | $2,274,615,064 | $78,400,000,000 |
| 1906 | $2,337,161,839 | $80,600,000,000 |
| 1907 | $2,457,188,062 | $81,900,000,000 |
| 1908 | $2,626,806,272 | $90,600,000,000 |
| 1909 | $2,639,546,241 | $91,000,000,000 |
| 1910 | $2,652,665,838 | $88,400,000,000 |
| 1911 | $2,765,600,607 | $92,200,000,000 |
| 1912 | $2,868,373,874 | $92,500,000,000 |
| 1913 | $2,916,204,914 | $91,131,403,563 |
| 1914 | $2,912,499,269 | $91,015,602,156 |
| 1915 | $3,058,136,873 | $95,566,777,281 |
| 1916 | $3,609,244,262 | $103,121,264,629 |
| 1917 | $5,717,770,280 | $139,457,811,707 |
| 1918 | $14,592,161,414 | $304,003,362,792 |
| 1919 | $27,390,970,113 | $498,017,638,418 |
| 1920 | $25,952,456,406 | $405,507,131,344 |
| 1921 | $23,977,450,553 | $420,657,027,246 |
| 1922 | $22,963,381,708 | $433,271,352,981 |
| 1923 | $22,349,707,365 | $413,883,469,722 |
| 1924 | $21,250,812,989 | $393,533,573,870 |
| 1925 | $20,516,193,888 | $366,360,605,143 |
| 1926 | $19,643,216,315 | $350,771,719,911 |
| 1927 | $18,511,906,932 | $336,580,126,036 |
| 1928 | $17,604,293,201 | $320,078,058,200 |
| 1929 | $16,931,088,484 | $307,837,972,436 |
| 1930 | $16,185,309,831 | $305,383,204,358 |
| 1931 | $16,801,281,492 | $342,883,295,755 |
| 1932 | $19,487,002,444 | $442,886,419,182 |
| 1933 | $22,538,672,560 | $536,635,060,952 |
| 1934 | $27,053,141,414 | $629,142,823,581 |
| 1935 | $28,700,892,625 | $652,293,014,205 |
| 1936 | $33,778,543,494 | $750,634,299,867 |
| 1937 | $36,424,613,732 | $774,991,781,532 |
| 1938 | $37,164,740,315 | $807,929,137,283 |
| 1939 | $40,439,532,411 | $898,656,275,800 |
| 1940 | $42,967,531,038 | $954,834,023,067 |
| 1941 | $48,961,443,536 | $1,041,732,841,191 |
| 1942 | $72,422,445,116 | $1,366,461,228,604 |
| 1943 | $136,696,090,330 | $2,441,001,613,036 |
| 1944 | $201,003,387,221 | $3,526,375,214,404 |
| 1945 | $258,682,187,410 | $4,460,037,713,966 |
| 1946 | $269,422,099,173 | $4,276,541,256,714 |
| 1947 | $258,286,383,109 | $3,587,310,876,514 |
| 1948 | $252,292,246,513 | $3,276,522,681,987 |
| 1949 | $252,770,359,860 | $3,325,925,787,632 |
| 1950 | $257,357,352,351 | $3,342,303,277,286 |
| 1951 | $255,221,976,815 | $3,074,963,576,084 |
| 1952 | $259,105,178,785 | $3,048,296,221,000 |
| 1953 | $266,071,061,639 | $3,130,247,783,988 |
| 1954 | $271,259,599,108 | $3,154,181,384,977 |
| 1955 | $274,374,222,803 | $3,190,397,939,570 |
| 1956 | $272,750,813,649 | $3,135,066,823,552 |
| 1957 | $270,527,171,896 | $3,005,857,465,511 |
| 1958 | $276,343,217,746 | $2,971,432,448,882 |
| 1959 | $284,705,907,078 | $3,061,353,839,548 |
| 1960 | $286,330,760,848 | $3,014,008,008,926 |
| 1961 | $288,970,938,610 | $3,010,113,943,854 |
| 1962 | $298,200,822,721 | $3,074,235,285,784 |
| 1963 | $305,859,632,996 | $3,121,016,663,224 |
| 1964 | $311,712,899,257 | $3,148,615,144,010 |
| 1965 | $317,273,898,984 | $3,141,325,732,515 |
| 1966 | $319,907,087,795 | $3,076,029,690,337 |
| 1967 | $326,220,937,795 | $3,048,793,811,168 |
| 1968 | $347,578,406,426 | $3,103,378,628,804 |
| 1969 | $353,720,253,841 | $2,997,629,269,839 |
| 1970 | $370,918,706,950 | $2,967,349,655,600 |
| 1971 | $398,129,744,456 | $3,062,536,495,815 |
| 1972 | $427,260,460,941 | $3,188,510,902,545 |
| 1973 | $458,141,605,312 | $3,203,787,449,734 |
| 1974 | $475,059,815,732 | $3,006,707,694,506 |
| 1975 | $533,189,000,000 | $3,082,017,341,040 |
| 1976 | $620,433,000,000 | $3,390,344,262,295 |
| 1977 | $698,840,000,000 | $3,602,268,041,237 |
| 1978 | $771,544,000,000 | $3,691,598,086,124 |
| 1979 | $826,519,000,000 | $3,547,291,845,494 |
| 1980 | $907,701,000,000 | $3,438,261,363,636 |
| 1981 | $997,855,000,000 | $3,429,054,982,818 |
| 1982 | $1,142,034,000,000 | $3,695,902,912,621 |
| 1983 | $1,377,210,000,000 | $4,317,272,727,273 |
| 1984 | $1,572,266,000,000 | $4,721,519,519,520 |
| 1985 | $1,823,103,000,000 | $5,299,718,023,256 |
| 1986 | $2,125,302,616,660 | $6,054,993,209,858 |
| 1987 | $2,350,276,890,950 | $6,474,591,986,088 |
| 1988 | $2,602,337,712,040 | $6,884,491,301,693 |
| 1989 | $2,857,430,960,190 | $7,197,559,093,678 |
| 1990 | $3,233,313,451,780 | $7,735,199,645,407 |
| 1991 | $3,665,303,351,700 | $8,406,659,063,532 |
| 1992 | $4,064,620,655,520 | $9,052,607,250,601 |
| 1993 | $4,411,488,883,140 | $9,548,677,236,234 |
| 1994 | $4,692,749,910,010 | $9,900,316,265,844 |
| 1995 | $4,973,982,900,710 | $10,192,587,911,291 |
| 1996 | $5,224,810,939,140 | $10,407,989,918,606 |
| 1997 | $5,413,146,011,400 | $10,551,941,542,690 |
| 1998 | $5,526,193,008,900 | $10,586,576,645,402 |
| 1999 | $5,656,270,901,620 | $10,612,140,528,368 |
| 2000 | $5,674,178,209,890 | $10,354,339,799,069 |
| 2001 | $5,807,463,412,200 | $10,296,920,943,617 |
| 2002 | $6,228,235,965,600 | $10,869,521,754,974 |
| 2003 | $6,783,231,062,740 | $11,575,479,629,249 |
| 2004 | $7,379,052,696,330 | $12,277,957,897,388 |
| 2005 | $7,932,709,661,720 | $12,753,552,510,804 |
| 2006 | $8,506,973,899,220 | $13,250,738,160,779 |
| 2007 | $9,007,653,372,260 | $13,647,959,654,939 |
| 2008 | $10,024,724,896,900 | $14,613,301,598,980 |
| 2009 | $11,909,829,003,500 | $17,437,524,163,250 |
| 2010 | $13,561,623,030,900 | $19,513,126,663,166 |
| 2011 | $14,790,340,328,557 | $20,628,089,719,047 |
| 2012 | $16,066,241,407,385 | $21,978,442,417,763 |
| 2013 | $16,738,183,526,697 | $22,558,198,823,042 |
| 2014 | $17,824,071,380,733 | $23,639,351,963,837 |
| 2015 | $18,150,617,666,484 | $24,040,553,200,641 |
| 2016 | $19,573,444,713,936 | $25,619,692,033,948 |
| 2017 | $20,244,900,016,053 | $25,921,766,985,983 |
| 2018 | $21,516,058,183,180 | $26,895,072,728,975 |
| 2019 | $22,719,401,753,434 | $27,910,812,964,907 |
| 2020 | $26,945,391,194,615 | $32,700,717,469,193 |
| 2021 | $28,428,918,570,049 | $32,941,968,215,584 |
| 2022 | $30,928,911,613,307 | $33,185,527,482,089 |
| 2023 | $33,167,334,044,723 | $34,193,127,881,158 |
| 2024 | $35,464,673,929,172 | $35,464,673,929,172 |
| 2025 | $37,637,553,494,936 | $36,683,775,336,195 |
| 2026 | $40,171,825,101,340 | $37,403,933,986,350 |
| Current* | $40,444,342,709,389 | - |
*Current total public debt outstanding as of October 22, 2026 (U.S. Treasury, Debt to the Penny). The current fiscal year is not complete, so no inflation-adjusted figure is shown. 1843 appears twice because the federal fiscal year changed that year: the first row is the January 1, 1843 balance and the second the July 1, 1843 balance. Real dollars use CPI-U annual averages (2024 = 1); years before 1913 rely on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis reconstruction of historical prices, which is far less precise, so those real values are rounded to three significant figures and should be read as approximate.
03Sources
- Source: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data - Historical Debt Outstanding and Debt to the Penny (current balance)
- Source: BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U annual averages, 2024 = 1; fiscal 2026 uses the latest monthly CPI-U, September 2026) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis historical CPI for years before 1913
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