Sources
Every figure we publish and exactly where it comes from. All of it is free, public data. Population, taxpayer and GDP baselines are maintained by hand on the review schedule noted below; the debt figure and all Treasury datasets update automatically each day, and each one keeps its own date.
| Figure | Source | Cadence | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total public debt outstanding (the clock) | U.S. Treasury — Debt to the Penny | Each business day | 22 October 2026 |
| Resident population (debt per person) | U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 National Population Estimates | Annual / quarterly | 1 July 2025 |
| Taxable returns (debt per taxpayer) | IRS Statistics of Income, Individual Income Tax Returns | Annual | 2022 |
| Nominal GDP (debt-to-GDP) | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP (third estimate), nominal SAAR | Quarterly | 2026-Q1 |
| Interest on the debt (interest per day) | U.S. Treasury, Interest Expense on the Public Debt Outstanding (FY2026) | Monthly / annual | FY2026 |
| Debt by fiscal year, 1790–present (history) | U.S. Treasury — Historical Debt Outstanding | Annual | 30 September 2026 |
| Statutory debt limit and debt subject to limit | U.S. Treasury — Daily Treasury Statement, Table III-C | Each business day | 22 October 2026 |
| Receipts, outlays and the deficit | U.S. Treasury — Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 1 | Monthly | 30 September 2026 |
| Average interest rates on Treasury securities | U.S. Treasury — Average Interest Rates on U.S. Treasury Securities | Monthly | 30 September 2026 |
| Foreign holdings of Treasury securities | U.S. Treasury — TIC Table 5, Major Foreign Holders | Monthly (≈7-week lag) | 2026-08 |
For the calculations behind these figures, see methodology.