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Charting America’s Debt: $27 Trillion and Counting

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America's Debt Infographic

Why America’s Debt Doesn’t Stop Growing

Public sector debt has been a contentious topic for many years. While some believe that excessive government borrowing can be harmful over the long term, others have argued that it acts as a powerful tool for stimulating growth.

In the U.S., the latter view appears to have taken hold. Since 2008, America’s national debt has surged nearly 200%, reaching $27 trillion as of October 2020. To gain a better understanding of this ever-growing debt, this infographic takes a closer look at various U.S. budgetary datasets including the 2019 fiscal balance.

America’s Debt vs. GDP

Government debts are often represented by incredibly large numbers, making them hard to comprehend. By comparing America’s debt to its annual GDP, we can get a better grasp on the relative size of the country’s financial obligations.

YearTotal Public Debt (USD)GDP (USD)Debt as % of GDP
1994$4.5T$7.1T63%
1995$4.8T$7.5T64%
1996$5.0T$7.9T63%
1997$5.3T$8.4T63%
1998$5.5T$8.9T62%
1999$5.6T$9.4T60%
2000$5.8T$10.0T58%
2001$5.7T$10.5T54%
2002$5.9T$10.8T55%
2003$6.4T$11.2T57%
2004$7.0T$11.9T59%
2005$7.6T$12.8T59%
2006$8.2T$13.6T60%
2007$8.7T$14.2T61%
2008$9.2T$14.7T63%
2009$10.6T$14.4T74%
2010$12.3T$14.7T84%
2011$14.0T$15.3T92%
2012$15.2T$16.0T95%
2013$16.4T$16.6T99%
2014$17.3T$17.1T101%
2015$18.1T$18.0T101%
2016$18.9T$18.5T102%
2017$19.9T$19.2T104%
2018$20.5T$20.2T101%
2019$21.9T$21.1T104%
2020$23.2T$21.6T107%
April 2020$23.7T$19.5T122%

Source: Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury

In this context, U.S. debt was relatively moderate between 1994 to 2007, averaging 60% of GDP over the timeframe. This took a drastic turn during the Global Financial Crisis, with debt climbing to 95% of GDP by 2012.

Since then, America’s debt has only increased in relative size. In April 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full force, it reached a record 122% of GDP. This may sound troubling at first, but there are a few caveats.

For starters, there are many other advanced economies that have also surpassed the 100% debt-to-GDP milestone. The most noteworthy is Japan, where the debt-to-GDP ratio has climbed beyond 200%. Furthermore, this is not the first time America has found itself in this situation—by the end of World War II, debt-to-GDP peaked at 106% before declining to historic lows in the 1970s.

What’s Preventing the Debt From Shrinking?

Although the U.S. continuously pays off portions of its debt, the total amount it owes has increased each year since 2001. That’s because the federal government runs consistent budget deficits, meaning it spends more than it earns. During economic crises, these deficits can become incredibly large.

Fiscal Year (Sept 30)Budget Surplus or Deficit (USD billions)
2000+$236B
2001+$128B
2002-$158B
2003-$378B
2004-$418B
2005-$318B
2006-$248B
2007-$161B
2008-$458B
2009-$1,412B
2010-$1,294B
2011-$1,299B
2012-$1,076B
2013-$680B
2014-$485B
2015-$441B
2016-$585B
2017-$665B
2018-$779B
2019-$984B
2020-$3,131B

Source: Federal Reserve

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, the U.S. recorded an annual deficit of $1.4 trillion in FY2009. This was largely due to the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provided tax rebates and other economic relief.

In the economic battle against COVID-19’s impacts, the boundaries have been pushed even further. The annual deficit for FY2020 weighs in at a staggering $3.1 trillion, the largest ever. Contributing to this historic deficit was the $2 trillion CARES Act, which provided wide-ranging support to the entire U.S. economy.

Breaking Down the 2019 Fiscal Balance

Even in the years between these two economic crises, government spending still outpaced revenues. To find out more, we’ve broken down the 2019 fiscal balance into its various components.

Federal Spending

Total spending in FY2019 was roughly $4.4 trillion, and can be broken out into three components.

The first component is Mandatory Spending, which accounted for 62% of the total. Mandatory spending is required by law, and includes funding for important programs such as social security.

CategoryAmount (USD billions)Percent of Total Federal Spending
Health programs$1,121B25.5%
Social security$1,039B23.6%
Income security$301B6.8%
Federal civilian and military retirement$164B3.7%
Other$109B2.5%
Total mandatory spending$2,735B62.2%

Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding. Source: Peter G. Peterson Foundation

The largest category here was Health, with $1.1 trillion in funding for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Social security, which provides payments to retirees, was the second largest at $1.0 trillion.

The second component is Discretionary Spending, which accounted for 30% of the total. Discretionary spending is determined on an annual basis by Congress and the President.

Discretionary SpendingAmount (USD)Share of Total Federal Spending
Defense$677B15.4%
Transportation$100B2.3%
Veteran's benefits & services$85B1.9%
Education$72B1.6%
Health$66B1.5%
Administration of justice$59B1.3%
International affairs$52B1.2%
General government$51B1.2%
Housing assistance$49B1.1%
Natural resources and environment$44B1.0%
General science, space, and technology$32B0.7%
Community and regional development$27B0.6%
Training, employment, and social services$23B0.5%

Total discretionary spending


$1,338B


30.4%

Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding. Source: Peter G. Peterson Foundation

At $677 billion, the Defense category represents over half of total discretionary spending. These funds are spread across the five branches of the U.S. military: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force.

The third component of spending is the net interest costs on existing government debt. For FY2019, this was approximately $327 billion.

Federal Revenues

Revenues in FY2019 fell short of total spending, coming in at approximately $3.5 trillion. These inflows can be traced back to six categories.

CategoryAmount (USD billions)Percent of Total Revenues
Individual income taxes$1,732B50.0%
Payroll taxes$1,247B36.0%
Corporate income taxes$242B7.0%
Other$104B3.0%
Excise taxes$104B3.0%
Customs duties$69B2.0%
Total revenues$3,464B100.0%

Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding. Source: Peter G. Peterson Foundation

Revenues overwhelmingly relied on individual income and payroll taxes, which together, accounted for 86% of the total. Corporate income taxes, on the other hand, accounted for just 7%.

Is America’s Debt a Cause for Concern?

The general consensus following the events of 2008 is that large fiscal stimulus (supported by government borrowing) was effective in speeding up the consequent recovery.

Now facing a pandemic, it’s likely that many Americans would support the idea of running large deficits to boost the economy. Surveys released in July 2020, for example, found that 82% of Americans wanted federal relief measures to be extended.

Looking beyond COVID-19, however, does reveal some warning signs. One frequent criticism of the ever-growing national debt is its associated interest costs, which could cannibalize investment in other areas. In fact, the effects of this dilemma are already becoming apparent. Over the past decade, the U.S. has spent more on interest than it has on programs such as veterans benefits and education.

us federal net interest costs chart

With low interest rates expected for the foreseeable future, the federal government is likely to continue running its large annual deficits—at least until the effects of COVID-19 have fully subsided. Perhaps after this crisis is over, it will be time to assess the long-term sustainability of America’s rising national debt.

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Money

Mapping Credit Card Delinquency Rates in the U.S. by State

Which states have the lowest credit card delinquency rates in America, and which have the highest?

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mapping credit card delinquency rates in the U.S.

Credit Card Delinquency Rates in the U.S. by State

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Credit card debt carries a hefty bill in America, and falling behind on payments can be extremely costly for cardholders.

This graphic shows credit card delinquency rates across 50 U.S. states, as of Q3 2023. This data comes from a WalletHub study published in January 2024.

Which States Have the Lowest and Highest Delinquency Rates?

Credit card delinquency is when a cardholder falls behind on required monthly payments. Credit agencies are often notified after two months of delinquent payments.

WalletHub examined proprietary user data on the average number of delinquent credit card tradelines—also known as credit accounts—across states. Here they are from lowest to highest:

RankStateShare of Credit Card
Tradelines Delinquent (%)
1Iowa12.9
2Massachusetts13.9
3Hawaii13.9
4Rhode Island14.7
5Washington14.7
6Florida14.8
7New York14.9
8California15.1
9New Hampshire15.5
10Alaska15.6
11New Jersey15.6
12Colorado15.7
13Utah15.8
14Vermont16.1
15Montana16.1
16Illinois16.5
17Oregon16.6
18Idaho17.0
19Ohio17.5
20Connecticut17.8
21Maine18.0
22Nebraska18.1
23Wyoming18.1
24Maryland18.4
25Kansas18.4
26Wisconsin18.5
27Virginia18.7
28Nevada19.1
29South Dakota19.3
30Arizona19.8
31Minnesota19.8
32Pennsylvania20.2
33Michigan20.9
34North Dakota21.3
35Delaware21.4
36Missouri22.4
37New Mexico22.6
38Georgia23.1
39North Carolina24.0
40Indiana24.3
41Texas24.7
42West Virginia25.2
43Tennessee26.2
44South Carolina26.9
45Kentucky27.6
46Oklahoma28.2
47Arkansas30.1
48Alabama30.5
49Louisiana31.7
50Mississippi39.1

No state had credit delinquency rates of less than 10%, with Iowa coming the closest at 12.9%.

That puts Iowa ahead of wealthier states like Massachusetts (13.9%), Washington (14.7%), and New Hampshire (15.5%).

At the bottom end was Mississippi, which had 39% credit delinquency rates to end 2023. That’s well ahead of the next-lowest states Louisiana (31.7%) and Alabama (30.5%).

It’s notable that the American South had higher rates of delinquency almost across the board. The five states with the highest rates of credit card delinquency are all located in the southeastern region of the country, and Texas had a higher delinquency rate (25%) than other majorly populated states like Florida (14.8%) and New York (14.9%).

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