Real-time tracker of US federal government debt
Total US National Debt
Increasing by $115,740 every second
National Debt
$37.200 Trillion
Debt Per Citizen
$110,714
Debt Per Taxpayer
$232,500
Annual Interest
$1.85 Trillion
Interest Per Second
$0
Debt-to-GDP Ratio
137.2%
⚠️ FISCAL WARNING
Annual interest payments ($1.85T) now exceed the entire US defense budget. At current trajectory, interest will consume 25% of federal revenue by 2028.
Analysis on US debt trajectory, Fed policy, and what it means for your portfolio.
The US national debt has grown from $5.7 trillion in 2000 to over $37 trillion in 2026. Major contributors include the 2008 financial crisis response, COVID-19 pandemic spending, tax cuts, and structural entitlement growth. The debt has doubled in just the last decade.
With interest rates elevated, the federal government now pays approximately $1.85 trillion annually just to service existing debt. This exceeds spending on defense, Medicare, and most other budget categories. Each percentage point increase in rates adds ~$370 billion to annual interest costs.
Persistent fiscal deficits and debt monetization by the Federal Reserve tend to be inflationary. This explains why hard assets like gold and real estate have outperformed in recent years. Investors should consider inflation-hedged positions and diversification away from dollar-denominated fixed income.