What changed
Official annual totals, newest first · US Census Bureau · published once a year, after the fiscal year endsNorth Carolina government debt
US Census Bureau · official as of Jun 30, 2024 · projected at last year's pace between annual reportsState government debt
US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) · official, Jun 30, 2024 · fixedLocal government debt
US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) · official, Jun 30, 2024 · fixedPer North Carolinian
Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 state population estimates (NST-EST2025) · Jul 1, 2025History
Fixed official figures · US Census Bureau · these do not tickDetails
Full official tablesState government debt: $13,132,128,000
Official, fiscal year-end Jun 30, 2024 · US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) (North Carolina, Government type 'State', items LF0231 Total, LF0233 Long-term and LF0232 Short-term Debt Outstanding, survey year 2024; amounts published in $1,000)
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt outstanding (Census item LF0233) | $13,113,128,000 |
| Short-term debt outstanding (Census item LF0232) | $19,000,000 |
| Total | $13,132,128,000 |
All debt of the North Carolina state government as Census defines it: long-term and short-term debt of the state and its dependent agencies, whatever the source of repayment. Census uses the same definition for every state.
Local government debt: $36,874,719,000
Official, fiscal year-end Jun 30, 2024 · US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) (North Carolina, Government type 'Local', items LF0231 Total, LF0233 Long-term and LF0232 Short-term Debt Outstanding, survey year 2024; amounts published in $1,000)
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt outstanding (Census item LF0233) | $36,769,101,000 |
| Short-term debt outstanding (Census item LF0232) | $105,618,000 |
| Total | $36,874,719,000 |
All debt of North Carolina's counties, cities, towns, school districts and special districts, on the same Census definition. Census estimates local totals from a sample of local governments in most years (2022 was a full count, the Census of Governments); coefficient of variation for 2024: 0.84%.
By year (official)
| Fiscal year-end | State debt | Local debt | Combined | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2024 | $13,132,128,000 | $36,874,719,000 | $50,006,847,000 | +$4.52B |
| Jun 30, 2023 | $12,821,966,000 | $32,669,755,000 | $45,491,721,000 | −$405.2M |
| Jun 30, 2022 | $14,091,489,000 | $31,805,410,000 | $45,896,899,000 | −$1.09B |
| Jun 30, 2021 | $15,073,723,000 | $31,911,427,000 | $46,985,150,000 | −$675.0M |
| Jun 30, 2020 | $15,098,522,000 | $32,561,639,000 | $47,660,161,000 | +$174.0M |
| Jun 30, 2019 | $14,944,427,000 | $32,541,697,000 | $47,486,124,000 | +$1.38B |
| Jun 30, 2018 | $15,354,553,000 | $30,754,123,000 | $46,108,676,000 | −$963.7M |
| Jun 30, 2017 | $16,310,177,000 | $30,762,205,000 | $47,072,382,000 | — |
How it works
Official annual figures · projection labelled · sources linkedThe live number = latest official total + (last year's official change per second × seconds since that total). The Census Bureau publishes North Carolina's state + local debt once a year, not daily, so this is a projection between annual reports, not an official figure.
projected = 50,006,847,000 + 142.7825 × (seconds since Jun 30, 2024 11:59:59 PM CT)
The rate is each part's official change over its latest year, added up: state debt $13,132,128,000 − $12,821,966,000 = $310,162,000; local debt $36,874,719,000 − $32,669,755,000 = $4,204,964,000; combined $4,515,126,000 over 366 days = $142.78 per second. The actual path is lumpy (bonds are sold in batches and repaid on schedules), so the projection will drift; when new annual reports come out, the clock re-bases to the new official figures.
How often it's published. Annual. The Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances comes out about two years after the fiscal year (survey year 2024: July 2026; survey year 2023: July 2025). The next Census figures, for survey year 2025, are expected around mid-2027, based on the last two release dates.
Per North Carolinian divides by the Census Bureau's estimate of 11,197,968 residents on Jul 1, 2025. It is not projected forward, so the live per-North Carolinian figure rises only with the debt.
Note. Census publishes North Carolina's state + local total as $50.01 billion for 2024 (coefficient of variation 0.62%) and $45.49 billion for 2023. State + local here is exactly Census's state figure plus its local figure.
Note. Census's figures are the newest official state + local totals that use one definition for all 50 states, but they lag about two years, so the live clock projects from June 30, 2024. North Carolina's own audited report is fresher but is not used here: it covers a narrower scope and would not be comparable with the other states.
Note. Not included: unfunded pension and retiree-health liabilities, and the state's share of the federal debt.
Note. North Carolina's state fiscal year ends June 30. Census survey year 2024 covers each government's fiscal year that ended between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024; the clock dates it June 30, 2024, the end of that window.
Note. Figures from source tables may not add exactly because of rounding in the source.
Sources: US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, table GS00LOCALFIN (State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government: U.S. and States: 2017-2024), Debt - Total Debt Outstanding (LF0231) · Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 state population estimates (NST-EST2025) · US Census Bureau, 2024 State & Local Government Finance Datasets and Tables (release page) · US Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of Local Government Finances methodology · Census data API download used for these figures (North Carolina)
Page built Oct 27, 2026 5:15 PM CT from the official figures above.