How much is the national debt?
Treasury, Debt to the Penny · close of business Oct 23, 2026
Answer. The US national debt (total public debt outstanding) was $40,463,151,897,249.19, or about $40.46 trillion, at the close of business on Oct 23, 2026, the latest figure Treasury has published. That is how much debt the US federal government is in: $118,387.78 for each of the 341,784,857 people the Census Bureau counted on Jul 1, 2025.
What the national debt is made of
| Part | Amount | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Debt held by the public (Treasury securities owned by investors, the Fed, foreign governments) | $32,610,649,676,158 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Intragovernmental holdings (securities held by federal trust funds such as Social Security) | $7,852,502,221,091 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Total public debt outstanding | $40,463,151,897,249 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Debt subject to the statutory limit | $40,263,669,000,000 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Statutory debt limit | $41,103,996,000,000 | Oct 23, 2026 |
How fast it is changing
- Since the prior business day: up $18.8 billion (from $40,444,342,709,389 on Oct 22, 2026).
- Over about a week: up $75.6 billion (from $40,387,508,795,232 on Oct 16, 2026).
- Over about a month: up $389.6 billion (from $40,073,558,531,202 on Sep 23, 2026).
- 90-day trend: about $6.6 billion a day (least-squares fit to Treasury's daily closes). Daily moves are lumpy: debt jumps on auction settlement days.
- Projected to Oct 26, 2026 7:50 PM CT at that trend: $40,482,015,196,742 (projection, not an official figure).
Recent official closes
| Treasury close | Total debt | Change vs prior close |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 2026 | $40,463,151,897,249 | +$18.8 billion |
| Oct 22, 2026 | $40,444,342,709,389 | +$30.7 billion |
| Oct 21, 2026 | $40,413,639,012,306 | −$25.9 billion |
| Oct 20, 2026 | $40,439,546,016,039 | +$43.1 billion |
| Oct 19, 2026 | $40,396,401,120,485 | +$8.9 billion |
| Oct 16, 2026 | $40,387,508,795,232 | −$0.8 billion |
| Oct 15, 2026 | $40,388,317,675,072 | +$59.1 billion |
| Oct 14, 2026 | $40,329,229,827,541 | −$14.6 billion |
| Oct 13, 2026 | $40,343,879,238,036 | +$42.4 billion |
| Oct 9, 2026 | $40,301,480,531,900 | −$3.8 billion |
When Treasury updates it
Treasury publishes Debt to the Penny each business day, usually in the afternoon, for the previous business day's close. This page and the live clock are rebuilt after each release.
Sources. Treasury, Debt to the Penny · Treasury, Daily Treasury Statement Table III-C (debt subject to limit) · Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 national population estimates
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