The Debt ClockUnited States National Debt

★ Live · U.S. Treasury data · Checked daily

The United States National Debt

The national debt is about $40.4 trillion and has been rising by roughly $8.6 billion a day. The number below is projected live from official U.S. Treasury figures — with the last confirmed Treasury figure and the source of every number shown alongside it.

Live · projected from Treasury data

Last confirmed by the U.S. Treasury$40,444,342,709,389

Debt to the Penny · 22 October 2026

How this is calculated →
Make the sourced number easier to find.
Projected

The big ticking figure. Between Treasury publications we extrapolate from a stable daily rate. If our data ever goes stale, this stops rather than drift. See the method →

Confirmed

The exact figure the U.S. Treasury last published, with its date. This is the ground truth every projection is built on, and it is always visible.

The debt at a glance

All sources →
Held by the public $32.6 trillion 81%Intragovernmental $7.85 trillion 19%
Past 12 months+$2.45 trillionSince 22 October 2025 (+6.5%)Next: $41 trillion≈ 65 daysAround December 2026 at the recent pace — an estimateFY2026 deficit to date$1.99 trillionThrough September · Monthly Treasury StatementInterest, FY2026$1.36 trillionAverage rate 3.53% on Treasury debtDebt limit headroom$860 billionUnder the $41.1 trillion limit · 22 October 2026Held by foreign investors$9.33 trillion23% of total debt · TIC data
Recent pace of growth$99,606 per second$5.98 million per minute$359 million per hour$8.61 billion per day

The last 30 Treasury publications

See daily changes →
Recent confirmed U.S. national debtThe last 30 Treasury publications through 2026-10-22.

Confirmed business-day observations from U.S. Treasury Debt to the Penny. Daily moves can be positive or negative even while the long-run trend rises.

Recent trillion-dollar milestones

Full history since 1790 →
  1. $40T18 August 2026154 days after $39T
  2. $39T17 March 2026147 days after $38T
  3. $38T21 October 202571 days after $37T
  4. $37T11 August 2025263 days after $36T

Understand the number

TodayCurrent U.S. debtThe confirmed total, recent Treasury changes and the live projection.Personal scaleDebt per personPer resident, per taxpayer and a transparent household calculator.Since 1790Debt historyEvery fiscal year since 1790, trillion-dollar milestones and the daily series since 1993.Annual gapFederal deficitThis fiscal year month by month, and every completed year’s receipts and outlays.Legal limitDebt ceiling trackerThe statutory limit, debt subject to it, remaining headroom and the timeline.HoldersWho owns the debtTrust funds, U.S. investors and foreign holders by country, with custody caveats.ContextDebt by presidentAdministration-period changes without pretending presidents act alone.CostInterest on the debtAnnual interest expense since 2016 and the average rate on every security type.Economic scaleDebt-to-GDPWhat the ratio says, what it omits and how the current figure is calculated.Essential distinctionDebt versus deficitA balance on one date versus a budget gap measured across a period.Plain EnglishDebt glossaryThe definitions needed to compare fiscal numbers without mixing concepts.PublishFree debt clock widgetEmbed a sourced, accessible clock on any site with one line of HTML.

U.S. debt clock questions

What is the current U.S. national debt?

The last confirmed U.S. Treasury total is $40,444,342,709,389, dated 22 October 2026. The large display projects forward between official publications.

Is the national debt clock exact?

The confirmed figure is the exact Treasury publication. A continuously ticking figure cannot be official because Treasury publishes on business days, so our live value is clearly labelled as a projection.

How often is the debt data updated?

The site checks for a new Treasury Debt to the Penny record each day. The source normally publishes on business days, with occasional delays around weekends and holidays.

Does each person personally owe their share?

No. Debt per person is a scale comparison created by dividing total debt by the resident population; it is not a bill or personal legal obligation.

How close is the debt to the debt ceiling?

The statutory debt limit is $41.1 trillion. On 22 October 2026 debt subject to the limit was $40.2 trillion, leaving about $860 billion of headroom.

Who owns the U.S. national debt?

Most of it is owed to Americans. Federal trust funds such as Social Security hold $7.85 trillion. Of the $32.6 trillion held by the public, foreign investors and governments held about $9.33 trillion at the end of August 2026; the remainder is held by U.S. investors, including the Federal Reserve.