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 | $1,985,880,974 |
| 1792 | $77,227,925 | $2,032,313,816 |
| 1793 | $80,358,634 | $2,008,965,850 |
| 1794 | $78,427,405 | $1,782,441,023 |
| 1795 | $80,747,587 | $1,614,951,740 |
| 1796 | $83,762,172 | $1,580,418,340 |
| 1797 | $82,064,479 | $1,609,107,431 |
| 1798 | $79,228,529 | $1,616,908,755 |
| 1799 | $78,408,670 | $1,600,176,939 |
| 1800 | $82,976,294 | $1,659,525,880 |
| 1801 | $83,038,051 | $1,628,197,078 |
| 1802 | $80,712,632 | $1,877,037,953 |
| 1803 | $77,054,686 | $1,712,326,356 |
| 1804 | $86,427,121 | $1,838,874,915 |
| 1805 | $82,312,151 | $1,751,322,362 |
| 1806 | $75,723,271 | $1,545,372,878 |
| 1807 | $69,218,399 | $1,504,747,804 |
| 1808 | $65,196,318 | $1,303,926,360 |
| 1809 | $57,023,192 | $1,163,738,612 |
| 1810 | $53,173,218 | $1,085,167,714 |
| 1811 | $48,005,588 | $923,184,385 |
| 1812 | $45,209,738 | $853,013,925 |
| 1813 | $55,962,828 | $874,419,188 |
| 1814 | $81,487,846 | $1,164,112,086 |
| 1815 | $99,833,660 | $1,610,220,323 |
| 1816 | $127,334,934 | $2,273,838,107 |
| 1817 | $123,491,965 | $2,330,037,075 |
| 1818 | $103,466,634 | $2,028,757,529 |
| 1819 | $95,529,648 | $1,873,130,353 |
| 1820 | $91,015,566 | $1,936,501,404 |
| 1821 | $89,987,428 | $1,999,720,622 |
| 1822 | $93,546,677 | $1,990,354,830 |
| 1823 | $90,875,877 | $2,163,711,357 |
| 1824 | $90,269,778 | $2,314,609,692 |
| 1825 | $83,788,433 | $2,094,710,825 |
| 1826 | $81,054,060 | $2,026,351,500 |
| 1827 | $73,987,357 | $1,849,683,925 |
| 1828 | $67,475,044 | $1,775,659,053 |
| 1829 | $58,421,414 | $1,578,957,135 |
| 1830 | $48,565,407 | $1,312,578,568 |
| 1831 | $39,123,192 | $1,117,805,486 |
| 1832 | $24,322,235 | $715,359,853 |
| 1833 | $7,001,699 | $205,932,324 |
| 1834 | $4,760,082 | $140,002,412 |
| 1835 | $33,733 | $963,800 |
| 1836 | $37,513 | $1,013,865 |
| 1837 | $336,958 | $8,867,316 |
| 1838 | $3,308,124 | $89,408,757 |
| 1839 | $10,434,221 | $282,005,973 |
| 1840 | $3,573,344 | $102,095,543 |
| 1841 | $5,250,876 | $150,025,029 |
| 1842 | $13,594,481 | $411,953,970 |
| 1843 | $32,742,922 | $1,091,430,733 |
| 1843 | $20,201,226 | $673,374,200 |
| 1844 | $23,461,653 | $782,055,100 |
| 1845 | $15,925,303 | $530,843,433 |
| 1846 | $15,550,203 | $501,619,452 |
| 1847 | $38,826,535 | $1,176,561,667 |
| 1848 | $47,044,862 | $1,470,151,938 |
| 1849 | $63,061,859 | $2,034,253,516 |
| 1850 | $63,452,774 | $2,046,863,677 |
| 1851 | $68,304,796 | $2,203,380,516 |
| 1852 | $66,199,342 | $2,135,462,645 |
| 1853 | $59,803,118 | $1,929,132,839 |
| 1854 | $42,242,222 | $1,242,418,294 |
| 1855 | $35,586,957 | $1,016,770,200 |
| 1856 | $31,972,538 | $940,368,765 |
| 1857 | $28,699,832 | $819,995,200 |
| 1858 | $44,911,881 | $1,360,966,091 |
| 1859 | $58,496,838 | $1,772,631,455 |
| 1860 | $64,842,288 | $1,964,917,818 |
| 1861 | $90,580,874 | $2,588,024,971 |
| 1862 | $524,176,412 | $13,104,410,300 |
| 1863 | $1,119,772,139 | $22,395,442,780 |
| 1864 | $1,815,784,371 | $28,821,974,143 |
| 1865 | $2,680,647,870 | $41,240,736,462 |
| 1866 | $2,773,236,174 | $43,331,815,219 |
| 1867 | $2,678,126,104 | $45,391,967,864 |
| 1868 | $2,611,687,851 | $45,819,085,105 |
| 1869 | $2,588,452,214 | $47,934,300,259 |
| 1870 | $2,480,672,428 | $47,705,239,000 |
| 1871 | $2,353,211,332 | $48,024,721,061 |
| 1872 | $2,253,251,329 | $45,984,721,000 |
| 1873 | $2,234,482,993 | $46,551,729,021 |
| 1874 | $2,251,690,468 | $48,949,792,783 |
| 1875 | $2,232,284,532 | $50,733,739,364 |
| 1876 | $2,180,395,067 | $50,706,862,023 |
| 1877 | $2,205,301,392 | $52,507,176,000 |
| 1878 | $2,256,205,893 | $56,405,147,325 |
| 1879 | $2,349,567,482 | $58,739,187,050 |
| 1880 | $2,120,415,371 | $51,717,448,073 |
| 1881 | $2,069,013,570 | $50,463,745,610 |
| 1882 | $1,918,312,994 | $46,788,121,805 |
| 1883 | $1,884,171,728 | $47,104,293,200 |
| 1884 | $1,830,528,924 | $46,936,639,077 |
| 1885 | $1,863,964,873 | $47,793,971,103 |
| 1886 | $1,775,063,014 | $46,712,184,579 |
| 1887 | $1,657,602,593 | $43,621,120,868 |
| 1888 | $1,692,858,985 | $44,548,920,658 |
| 1889 | $1,619,052,922 | $43,758,187,081 |
| 1890 | $1,552,140,205 | $43,115,005,694 |
| 1891 | $1,545,996,592 | $42,944,349,778 |
| 1892 | $1,588,464,145 | $44,124,004,028 |
| 1893 | $1,545,985,686 | $42,944,046,833 |
| 1894 | $1,632,253,637 | $48,007,459,912 |
| 1895 | $1,676,120,983 | $49,297,675,971 |
| 1896 | $1,769,840,323 | $52,054,127,147 |
| 1897 | $1,817,672,666 | $55,080,989,879 |
| 1898 | $1,796,531,996 | $54,440,363,515 |
| 1899 | $1,991,927,307 | $60,361,433,545 |
| 1900 | $2,136,961,092 | $62,851,796,824 |
| 1901 | $2,143,326,934 | $63,039,027,471 |
| 1902 | $2,158,610,446 | $63,488,542,529 |
| 1903 | $2,202,464,782 | $62,927,565,200 |
| 1904 | $2,264,003,585 | $62,888,988,472 |
| 1905 | $2,274,615,064 | $64,989,001,829 |
| 1906 | $2,337,161,839 | $64,921,162,194 |
| 1907 | $2,457,188,062 | $64,662,843,737 |
| 1908 | $2,626,806,272 | $70,994,764,108 |
| 1909 | $2,639,546,241 | $73,320,728,917 |
| 1910 | $2,652,665,838 | $69,806,995,737 |
| 1911 | $2,765,600,607 | $72,778,963,342 |
| 1912 | $2,868,373,874 | $73,548,048,051 |
| 1913 | $2,916,204,914 | $72,905,122,850 |
| 1914 | $2,912,499,269 | $72,812,481,725 |
| 1915 | $3,058,136,873 | $76,453,421,825 |
| 1916 | $3,609,244,262 | $82,028,278,682 |
| 1917 | $5,717,770,280 | $112,113,142,745 |
| 1918 | $14,592,161,414 | $243,202,690,233 |
| 1919 | $27,390,970,113 | $396,970,581,348 |
| 1920 | $25,952,456,406 | $324,405,705,075 |
| 1921 | $23,977,450,553 | $333,020,146,569 |
| 1922 | $22,963,381,708 | $342,737,040,418 |
| 1923 | $22,349,707,365 | $328,672,167,132 |
| 1924 | $21,250,812,989 | $312,511,955,721 |
| 1925 | $20,516,193,888 | $293,088,484,114 |
| 1926 | $19,643,216,315 | $276,665,018,521 |
| 1927 | $18,511,906,932 | $264,455,813,314 |
| 1928 | $17,604,293,201 | $258,886,664,721 |
| 1929 | $16,931,088,484 | $248,986,595,353 |
| 1930 | $16,185,309,831 | $241,571,788,522 |
| 1931 | $16,801,281,492 | $275,430,844,131 |
| 1932 | $19,487,002,444 | $354,309,135,345 |
| 1933 | $22,538,672,560 | $433,436,010,769 |
| 1934 | $27,053,141,414 | $500,984,100,259 |
| 1935 | $28,700,892,625 | $521,834,411,364 |
| 1936 | $33,778,543,494 | $603,188,276,679 |
| 1937 | $36,424,613,732 | $628,010,581,586 |
| 1938 | $37,164,740,315 | $663,656,077,054 |
| 1939 | $40,439,532,411 | $722,134,507,339 |
| 1940 | $42,967,531,038 | $767,277,339,964 |
| 1941 | $48,961,443,536 | $829,854,975,186 |
| 1942 | $72,422,445,116 | $1,114,191,463,323 |
| 1943 | $136,696,090,330 | $1,981,102,758,406 |
| 1944 | $201,003,387,221 | $2,871,476,960,300 |
| 1945 | $258,682,187,410 | $3,592,808,158,472 |
| 1946 | $269,422,099,173 | $3,454,129,476,577 |
| 1947 | $258,286,383,109 | $2,902,094,192,236 |
| 1948 | $252,292,246,513 | $2,628,044,234,510 |
| 1949 | $252,770,359,860 | $2,660,740,630,105 |
| 1950 | $257,357,352,351 | $2,680,805,753,656 |
| 1951 | $255,221,976,815 | $2,454,057,469,375 |
| 1952 | $259,105,178,785 | $2,444,388,479,104 |
| 1953 | $266,071,061,639 | $2,486,645,435,879 |
| 1954 | $271,259,599,108 | $2,511,662,954,704 |
| 1955 | $274,374,222,803 | $2,564,245,072,925 |
| 1956 | $272,750,813,649 | $2,502,301,042,651 |
| 1957 | $270,527,171,896 | $2,415,421,177,643 |
| 1958 | $276,343,217,746 | $2,382,269,118,500 |
| 1959 | $284,705,907,078 | $2,454,361,267,914 |
| 1960 | $286,330,760,848 | $2,426,531,871,593 |
| 1961 | $288,970,938,610 | $2,408,091,155,083 |
| 1962 | $298,200,822,721 | $2,464,469,609,264 |
| 1963 | $305,859,632,996 | $2,507,046,172,098 |
| 1964 | $311,712,899,257 | $2,513,813,703,685 |
| 1965 | $317,273,898,984 | $2,518,046,817,333 |
| 1966 | $319,907,087,795 | $2,460,823,752,269 |
| 1967 | $326,220,937,795 | $2,434,484,610,410 |
| 1968 | $347,578,406,426 | $2,500,564,075,007 |
| 1969 | $353,720,253,841 | $2,406,260,230,211 |
| 1970 | $370,918,706,950 | $2,393,023,915,806 |
| 1971 | $398,129,744,456 | $2,457,591,015,160 |
| 1972 | $427,260,460,941 | $2,558,445,873,898 |
| 1973 | $458,141,605,312 | $2,573,829,243,326 |
| 1974 | $475,059,815,732 | $2,411,471,145,848 |
| 1975 | $533,189,000,000 | $2,479,948,837,209 |
| 1976 | $620,433,000,000 | $2,721,197,368,421 |
| 1977 | $698,840,000,000 | $2,887,768,595,041 |
| 1978 | $771,544,000,000 | $2,956,107,279,693 |
| 1979 | $826,519,000,000 | $2,850,065,517,241 |
| 1980 | $907,701,000,000 | $2,758,969,604,863 |
| 1981 | $997,855,000,000 | $2,748,911,845,730 |
| 1982 | $1,142,034,000,000 | $2,958,637,305,699 |
| 1983 | $1,377,210,000,000 | $3,460,326,633,166 |
| 1984 | $1,572,266,000,000 | $3,788,592,771,084 |
| 1985 | $1,823,103,000,000 | $4,239,774,418,605 |
| 1986 | $2,125,302,616,660 | $4,852,289,079,132 |
| 1987 | $2,350,276,890,950 | $5,176,821,345,705 |
| 1988 | $2,602,337,712,040 | $5,501,771,061,395 |
| 1989 | $2,857,430,960,190 | $5,760,949,516,512 |
| 1990 | $3,233,313,451,780 | $6,182,243,693,652 |
| 1991 | $3,665,303,351,700 | $6,725,327,250,826 |
| 1992 | $4,064,620,655,520 | $7,245,313,111,444 |
| 1993 | $4,411,488,883,140 | $7,632,333,707,855 |
| 1994 | $4,692,749,910,010 | $7,913,574,890,405 |
| 1995 | $4,973,982,900,710 | $8,167,459,607,077 |
| 1996 | $5,224,810,939,140 | $8,333,031,800,861 |
| 1997 | $5,413,146,011,400 | $8,431,691,606,542 |
| 1998 | $5,526,193,008,900 | $8,475,756,148,620 |
| 1999 | $5,656,270,901,620 | $8,492,899,251,682 |
| 2000 | $5,674,178,209,890 | $8,235,382,017,257 |
| 2001 | $5,807,463,412,200 | $8,202,631,938,136 |
| 2002 | $6,228,235,965,600 | $8,662,358,783,866 |
| 2003 | $6,783,231,062,740 | $9,216,346,552,636 |
| 2004 | $7,379,052,696,330 | $9,773,579,730,238 |
| 2005 | $7,932,709,661,720 | $10,157,118,644,968 |
| 2006 | $8,506,973,899,220 | $10,554,558,187,618 |
| 2007 | $9,007,653,372,260 | $10,865,685,611,894 |
| 2008 | $10,024,724,896,900 | $11,643,118,347,155 |
| 2009 | $11,909,829,003,500 | $13,880,919,584,499 |
| 2010 | $13,561,623,030,900 | $15,552,319,989,564 |
| 2011 | $14,790,340,328,557 | $16,451,991,466,693 |
| 2012 | $16,066,241,407,385 | $17,501,352,295,626 |
| 2013 | $16,738,183,526,697 | $17,978,714,851,447 |
| 2014 | $17,824,071,380,733 | $18,821,617,086,307 |
| 2015 | $18,150,617,666,484 | $19,146,221,167,177 |
| 2016 | $19,573,444,713,936 | $20,389,004,910,350 |
| 2017 | $20,244,900,016,053 | $20,658,061,240,870 |
| 2018 | $21,516,058,183,180 | $21,733,392,104,222 |
| 2019 | $30 | $30 |
*2019 Fiscal Year is Ongoing
Source: TreasuryDirect.gov -
Historical Debt Outstanding - AnnualSource: Oregon State University -
Inflation Conversion Factors
