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 until the current fiscal year.
Historical End of Fiscal Year US Debt Balances 1791-2018 | Year | Nominal Dollars | Real Dollars (2019) |
| 1791 | $75,463,477 | $1,840,572,610 |
| 1792 | $77,227,925 | $1,716,176,111 |
| 1793 | $80,358,634 | $1,785,747,422 |
| 1794 | $78,427,405 | $1,633,904,271 |
| 1795 | $80,747,587 | $1,495,325,685 |
| 1796 | $83,762,172 | $1,469,511,789 |
| 1797 | $82,064,479 | $1,519,712,574 |
| 1798 | $79,228,529 | $1,553,500,569 |
| 1799 | $78,408,670 | $1,537,424,902 |
| 1800 | $82,976,294 | $1,626,986,157 |
| 1801 | $83,038,051 | $1,537,741,685 |
| 1802 | $80,712,632 | $1,793,614,044 |
| 1803 | $77,054,686 | $1,712,326,356 |
| 1804 | $86,427,121 | $1,800,565,021 |
| 1805 | $82,312,151 | $1,613,963,745 |
| 1806 | $75,723,271 | $1,577,568,146 |
| 1807 | $69,218,399 | $1,538,186,644 |
| 1808 | $65,196,318 | $1,278,359,176 |
| 1809 | $57,023,192 | $1,118,101,804 |
| 1810 | $53,173,218 | $1,042,612,118 |
| 1811 | $48,005,588 | $888,992,370 |
| 1812 | $45,209,738 | $793,153,298 |
| 1813 | $55,962,828 | $835,266,090 |
| 1814 | $81,487,846 | $1,164,112,086 |
| 1815 | $99,833,660 | $1,751,467,719 |
| 1816 | $127,334,934 | $2,652,811,125 |
| 1817 | $123,491,965 | $2,744,265,889 |
| 1818 | $103,466,634 | $2,523,576,439 |
| 1819 | $95,529,648 | $2,329,991,415 |
| 1820 | $91,015,566 | $2,395,146,474 |
| 1821 | $89,987,428 | $2,571,069,371 |
| 1822 | $93,546,677 | $2,672,762,200 |
| 1823 | $90,875,877 | $2,839,871,156 |
| 1824 | $90,269,778 | $3,112,750,966 |
| 1825 | $83,788,433 | $2,889,256,310 |
| 1826 | $81,054,060 | $2,794,967,586 |
| 1827 | $73,987,357 | $2,551,288,172 |
| 1828 | $67,475,044 | $2,326,725,655 |
| 1829 | $58,421,414 | $2,014,531,517 |
| 1830 | $48,565,407 | $1,674,669,207 |
| 1831 | $39,123,192 | $1,349,075,586 |
| 1832 | $24,322,235 | $838,697,759 |
| 1833 | $7,001,699 | $241,437,897 |
| 1834 | $4,760,082 | $164,140,759 |
| 1835 | $33,733 | $1,163,207 |
| 1836 | $37,513 | $1,172,281 |
| 1837 | $336,958 | $10,529,938 |
| 1838 | $3,308,124 | $103,378,875 |
| 1839 | $10,434,221 | $326,069,406 |
| 1840 | $3,573,344 | $142,933,760 |
| 1841 | $5,250,876 | $210,035,040 |
| 1842 | $13,594,481 | $543,779,240 |
| 1843 | $32,742,922 | $1,488,314,636 |
| 1843 | $20,201,226 | $918,237,545 |
| 1844 | $23,461,653 | $1,066,438,773 |
| 1845 | $15,925,303 | $637,012,120 |
| 1846 | $15,550,203 | $622,008,120 |
| 1847 | $38,826,535 | $1,338,846,034 |
| 1848 | $47,044,862 | $1,881,794,480 |
| 1849 | $63,061,859 | $2,522,474,360 |
| 1850 | $63,452,774 | $2,538,110,960 |
| 1851 | $68,304,796 | $2,732,191,840 |
| 1852 | $66,199,342 | $2,647,973,680 |
| 1853 | $59,803,118 | $2,392,124,720 |
| 1854 | $42,242,222 | $1,456,628,345 |
| 1855 | $35,586,957 | $1,227,136,448 |
| 1856 | $31,972,538 | $1,102,501,310 |
| 1857 | $28,699,832 | $989,649,379 |
| 1858 | $44,911,881 | $1,796,475,240 |
| 1859 | $58,496,838 | $2,339,873,520 |
| 1860 | $64,842,288 | $2,593,691,520 |
| 1861 | $90,580,874 | $3,623,234,960 |
| 1862 | $524,176,412 | $18,075,048,690 |
| 1863 | $1,119,772,139 | $31,993,489,686 |
| 1864 | $1,815,784,371 | $40,350,763,800 |
| 1865 | $2,680,647,870 | $59,569,952,667 |
| 1866 | $2,773,236,174 | $67,639,906,683 |
| 1867 | $2,678,126,104 | $70,477,002,737 |
| 1868 | $2,611,687,851 | $68,728,627,658 |
| 1869 | $2,588,452,214 | $68,117,163,526 |
| 1870 | $2,480,672,428 | $70,876,355,086 |
| 1871 | $2,353,211,332 | $67,234,609,486 |
| 1872 | $2,253,251,329 | $64,378,609,400 |
| 1873 | $2,234,482,993 | $63,842,371,229 |
| 1874 | $2,251,690,468 | $70,365,327,125 |
| 1875 | $2,232,284,532 | $69,758,891,625 |
| 1876 | $2,180,395,067 | $75,186,036,793 |
| 1877 | $2,205,301,392 | $76,044,875,586 |
| 1878 | $2,256,205,893 | $90,248,235,720 |
| 1879 | $2,349,567,482 | $93,982,699,280 |
| 1880 | $2,120,415,371 | $73,117,771,414 |
| 1881 | $2,069,013,570 | $71,345,295,517 |
| 1882 | $1,918,312,994 | $66,148,723,931 |
| 1883 | $1,884,171,728 | $64,971,438,897 |
| 1884 | $1,830,528,924 | $73,221,156,960 |
| 1885 | $1,863,964,873 | $74,558,594,920 |
| 1886 | $1,775,063,014 | $71,002,520,560 |
| 1887 | $1,657,602,593 | $66,304,103,720 |
| 1888 | $1,692,858,985 | $67,714,359,400 |
| 1889 | $1,619,052,922 | $64,762,116,880 |
| 1890 | $1,552,140,205 | $70,551,827,500 |
| 1891 | $1,545,996,592 | $70,272,572,364 |
| 1892 | $1,588,464,145 | $72,202,915,682 |
| 1893 | $1,545,985,686 | $70,272,076,636 |
| 1894 | $1,632,253,637 | $74,193,347,136 |
| 1895 | $1,676,120,983 | $76,187,317,409 |
| 1896 | $1,769,840,323 | $80,447,287,409 |
| 1897 | $1,817,672,666 | $82,621,484,818 |
| 1898 | $1,796,531,996 | $81,660,545,273 |
| 1899 | $1,991,927,307 | $90,542,150,318 |
| 1900 | $2,136,961,092 | $97,134,595,091 |
| 1901 | $2,143,326,934 | $85,733,077,360 |
| 1902 | $2,158,610,446 | $86,344,417,840 |
| 1903 | $2,202,464,782 | $88,098,591,280 |
| 1904 | $2,264,003,585 | $90,560,143,400 |
| 1905 | $2,274,615,064 | $90,984,602,560 |
| 1906 | $2,337,161,839 | $93,486,473,560 |
| 1907 | $2,457,188,062 | $84,730,622,828 |
| 1908 | $2,626,806,272 | $90,579,526,621 |
| 1909 | $2,639,546,241 | $91,018,835,897 |
| 1910 | $2,652,665,838 | $91,471,235,793 |
| 1911 | $2,765,600,607 | $95,365,538,172 |
| 1912 | $2,868,373,874 | $89,636,683,563 |
| 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 | $36 | $36 |
*2019 Fiscal Year is Ongoing
Source: TreasuryDirect.gov -
Historical Debt Outstanding - AnnualSource: Oregon State University -
Inflation Conversion Factors
