MarketXLS

US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt)

39.1T for Q1 2026

US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) came in at 39.1T for Q1 2026, up 1.43% from 38.5T the prior quarter and 7.87% above its level of 36.2T one year ago. The series has averaged 8.817T since 1966, reaching a record high of 39.1T in January 2026 and a record low of 316B in April 1966.

Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), St. Louis Fed

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Cite this data: "US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt)," MarketXLS. Data from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), St. Louis Fed. marketxls.com/indicators/us-national-debt

Historical Data

Observation dateValue
January 1, 202639.1T
October 1, 202538.5T
July 1, 202537.6T
April 1, 202536.2T
January 1, 202536.2T
October 1, 202436.2T
July 1, 202435.5T
April 1, 202434.8T
January 1, 202434.6T
October 1, 202334T
July 1, 202333.2T
April 1, 202332.3T
January 1, 202331.5T
October 1, 202231.4T
July 1, 202230.9T
April 1, 202230.6T
January 1, 202230.4T
October 1, 202129.6T
July 1, 202128.4T
April 1, 202128.5T
January 1, 202128.1T
October 1, 202027.7T
July 1, 202026.9T
April 1, 202026.5T
January 1, 202023.2T
October 1, 201923.2T
July 1, 201922.7T
April 1, 201922T
January 1, 201922T
October 1, 201822T
July 1, 201821.5T
April 1, 201821.2T
January 1, 201821.1T
October 1, 201720.5T
July 1, 201720.2T
April 1, 201719.8T
January 1, 201719.8T
October 1, 201620T
July 1, 201619.6T
April 1, 201619.4T
January 1, 201619.3T
October 1, 201518.9T
July 1, 201518.2T
April 1, 201518.2T
January 1, 201518.2T
October 1, 201418.1T
July 1, 201417.8T
April 1, 201417.6T
January 1, 201417.6T
October 1, 201317.2T
July 1, 201316.7T
April 1, 201316.7T
January 1, 201316.8T
October 1, 201216.4T
July 1, 201216.1T
April 1, 201215.9T
January 1, 201215.6T
October 1, 201115.2T
July 1, 201114.8T
April 1, 201114.3T
January 1, 201114.3T
October 1, 201014T
July 1, 201013.6T
April 1, 201013.2T
January 1, 201012.8T
October 1, 200912.3T
July 1, 200911.9T
April 1, 200911.5T
January 1, 200911.1T
October 1, 200810.7T
July 1, 200810T
April 1, 20089.492T
January 1, 20089.438T
October 1, 20079.229T
July 1, 20079.008T
April 1, 20078.868T
January 1, 20078.85T
October 1, 20068.68T
July 1, 20068.507T
April 1, 20068.42T
January 1, 20068.371T
October 1, 20058.17T
July 1, 20057.933T
April 1, 20057.836T
January 1, 20057.777T
October 1, 20047.596T
July 1, 20047.379T
April 1, 20047.274T
January 1, 20047.131T
October 1, 20036.998T
July 1, 20036.783T
April 1, 20036.67T
January 1, 20036.461T
October 1, 20026.406T
July 1, 20026.228T
April 1, 20026.126T
January 1, 20026.006T
October 1, 20015.943T
July 1, 20015.807T
April 1, 20015.727T
January 1, 20015.774T
October 1, 20005.662T
July 1, 20005.674T
April 1, 20005.686T
January 1, 20005.773T
October 1, 19995.776T
July 1, 19995.656T
April 1, 19995.639T
January 1, 19995.652T
October 1, 19985.614T
July 1, 19985.526T
April 1, 19985.548T
January 1, 19985.542T
October 1, 19975.502T
July 1, 19975.413T
April 1, 19975.376T
January 1, 19975.381T
October 1, 19965.323T
July 1, 19965.225T
April 1, 19965.161T
January 1, 19965.118T
October 1, 19954.989T
July 1, 19954.974T
April 1, 19954.951T
January 1, 19954.864T
October 1, 19944.8T
July 1, 19944.693T
April 1, 19944.646T
January 1, 19944.576T
October 1, 19934.536T
July 1, 19934.411T
April 1, 19934.352T
January 1, 19934.231T
October 1, 19924.177T
July 1, 19924.065T
April 1, 19923.985T
January 1, 19923.881T
October 1, 19913.802T
July 1, 19913.665T
April 1, 19913.538T
January 1, 19913.465T
October 1, 19903.365T
July 1, 19903.233T
April 1, 19903.144T
January 1, 19903.052T
October 1, 19892.953T
July 1, 19892.857T
April 1, 19892.8T
January 1, 19892.741T
October 1, 19882.684T
July 1, 19882.602T
April 1, 19882.548T
January 1, 19882.488T
October 1, 19872.432T
July 1, 19872.35T
April 1, 19872.309T
January 1, 19872.247T
October 1, 19862.215T
July 1, 19862.125T
April 1, 19862.059T
January 1, 19861.987T
October 1, 19851.946T
July 1, 19851.823T
April 1, 19851.775T
January 1, 19851.711T
October 1, 19841.663T
July 1, 19841.572T
April 1, 19841.513T
January 1, 19841.464T
October 1, 19831.411T
July 1, 19831.377T
April 1, 19831.32T
January 1, 19831.244T
October 1, 19821.197T
July 1, 19821.142T
April 1, 19821.08T
January 1, 19821.061T
October 1, 19811.029T
July 1, 1981998B
April 1, 1981971B
January 1, 1981965B
October 1, 1980930B
July 1, 1980908B
April 1, 1980878B
January 1, 1980863B
October 1, 1979845B
July 1, 1979827B
April 1, 1979805B
January 1, 1979797B
October 1, 1978789B
July 1, 1978772B
April 1, 1978749B
January 1, 1978738B
October 1, 1977719B
July 1, 1977699B
April 1, 1977674B
January 1, 1977669B
October 1, 1976654B
July 1, 1976635B
April 1, 1976620B
January 1, 1976600B
October 1, 1975577B
July 1, 1975554B
April 1, 1975533B
January 1, 1975510B
October 1, 1974493B
July 1, 1974481B
April 1, 1974474B
January 1, 1974474B
October 1, 1973469B
July 1, 1973461B
April 1, 1973457B
January 1, 1973459B
October 1, 1972448B
July 1, 1972434B
April 1, 1972426B
January 1, 1972427B
October 1, 1971424B
July 1, 1971412B
April 1, 1971397B
January 1, 1971392B
October 1, 1970389B
July 1, 1970379B
April 1, 1970370B
January 1, 1970372B
October 1, 1969368B
July 1, 1969361B
April 1, 1969353B
January 1, 1969360B
October 1, 1968358B
July 1, 1968355B
April 1, 1968345B
January 1, 1968349B
October 1, 1967345B
July 1, 1967336B
April 1, 1967323B
January 1, 1967331B
October 1, 1966329B
July 1, 1966325B
April 1, 1966316B
January 1, 1966321B

About US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt)

What it measures

Federal Debt: Total Public Debt (FRED series GFDEBTN) measures the total outstanding gross debt of the US federal government, combining debt held by the public with intragovernmental holdings such as the Social Security trust funds. The Treasury reports the figure, and FRED presents it quarterly in millions of dollars.

Why it matters

The debt stock is the accumulation of past deficits and the base on which interest costs compound. Its trajectory relative to GDP shapes debates over fiscal space, Treasury market capacity, and the long-run burden on future budgets. Debt-ceiling standoffs periodically make the level itself a source of market risk.

How to read it

Judge the debt by its ratio to GDP, not the headline dollar amount, since the economy grows alongside it. Note that gross debt overstates the market-relevant burden: debt held by the public is the portion that must be absorbed by investors. Sustainability depends on the gap between interest rates and nominal growth, not on any specific threshold.

Get US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) in Excel

Pull US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) directly into your spreadsheet with a single MarketXLS formula - always current, no copy-pasting:

=FederalDebt()

View the Federal Debt formula documentation or browse all 100+ Economic Data functions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt)?

US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) is 39.1T as of January 2026.

What is the all-time high and low of US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt)?

The highest value on record is 39.1T (January 2026) and the lowest is 316B (April 1966).

How often is US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) updated?

US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) is published on a quarterly basis, sourced from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).

How do I get US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) in Excel?

Use the MarketXLS Excel formula =FederalDebt() to pull US Federal Debt (Total Public Debt) directly into any cell, with historical values available for analysis.

Basic info
The amount of debt owed by the government of a country.
RegionUnited States
FrequencyQuarterly
Last updatedJune 18, 2026
Seasonal adjustmentNot Seasonally Adjusted
UnitMillions of Dollars

Stats
Last Value39.1T
Latest PeriodQ1 2026
Last UpdatedJune 18 2026, 02:30
Value Previous Quarter38.5T
Change From Previous Quarter1.43%
Value 1 Year Ago36.2T
Change From Year Ago7.87%
Average Growth Rate8.33%/yr
Record High (Jan 2026)39.1T
Record Low (Apr 1966)316B
Long-Term Average8.817T
FrequencyQuarterly
AdjustmentNot Seasonally Adjusted
UnitMillions of Dollars

Annual Averages
202639.1T
202537.1T
202435.3T
202332.7T
202230.8T
202128.7T
202026.1T
201922.5T
201821.4T
201720.1T
201619.5T
201518.3T

Related Indicators
Real Gross Domestic Product
Real Personal Consumption Expenditures
Real Gross Private Domestic Investment
Real Government Spending
Real Net Exports of Goods and Services
Real Exports of Goods and Services
Real imports of goods and services
Federal Receipts
Federal Net Outlays
Federal Surplus or Deficit
Real Private Nonresidential Fixed Investment
Real Private Residential Fixed Investment
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