Higgins Strategy

From Study X, Exhibit 1

Debt per resident has more than quadrupled since 1946, in fiscal 2025 dollars

Source. Treasury, Fiscal Data, Historical Debt Outstanding; OMB Historical Tables, FY2027 edition, Table 10.1; BEA population via FRED. Fiscal years 1790–2026; per resident from 1929, in fiscal 2025 dollars from 1940.

Method and data

Method. Total public debt outstanding at each fiscal year-end (June 30 to 1976, September 30 since 1977), from Treasury’s Historical Debt Outstanding; the FY2026 figure is September 30, 2026. The 1843 entry appears twice because the fiscal year changed; the later value is used. It is slightly larger than OMB’s “gross federal debt” (which excludes some agency debt and uses accrual values); the two are shown on their own bases and not mixed. Per resident divides by BEA’s annual population (1929 onward; earlier years omitted); FY2026 divides by the January–August 2026 average of Census monthly population (342,739 thousand). Fiscal 2025 dollars use OMB’s GDP price index (Table 10.1, 1940 onward; FY2026 on OMB’s estimate). Current-dollar debt for every year from 1790 is in the table and the CSV, in billions to three decimals, so 1835 ($33,733.05) and 1836 ($37,513.05) show as 0.000.

Fiscal yearDebt ($bn, current)Per resident ($, FY2025)
17900.071
17910.075
17920.077
17930.080
17940.078
17950.081
17960.084
17970.082
17980.079
17990.078
18000.083
18010.083
18020.081
18030.077
18040.086
18050.082
18060.076
18070.069
18080.065
18090.057
18100.053
18110.048
18120.045
18130.056
18140.081
18150.100
18160.127
18170.123
18180.103
18190.096
18200.091
18210.090
18220.094
18230.091
18240.090
18250.084
18260.081
18270.074
18280.067
18290.058
18300.049
18310.039
18320.024
18330.007
18340.005
18350.000
18360.000
18370.000
18380.003
18390.010
18400.004
18410.005
18420.014
18430.033
18440.023
18450.016
18460.016
18470.039
18480.047
18490.063
18500.063
18510.068
18520.066
18530.060
18540.042
18550.036
18560.032
18570.029
18580.045
18590.058
18600.065
18610.091
18620.524
18631.120
18641.816
18652.681
18662.773
18672.678
18682.612
18692.588
18702.481
18712.353
18722.253
18732.234
18742.252
18752.232
18762.180
18772.205
18782.256
18792.350
18802.120
18812.069
18821.918
18831.884
18841.831
18851.864
18861.775
18871.658
18881.693
18891.619
18901.552
18911.546
18921.588
18931.546
18941.632
18951.676
18961.770
18971.818
18981.797
18991.992
19002.137
19012.143
19022.159
19032.202
19042.264
19052.275
19062.337
19072.457
19082.627
19092.640
19102.653
19112.766
19122.868
19132.916
19142.912
19153.058
19163.609
19175.718
191814.592
191927.391
192025.952
192123.977
192222.963
192322.350
192421.251
192520.516
192619.643
192718.512
192817.604
192916.931
193016.185
193116.801
193219.487
193322.539
193427.053
193528.701
193633.779
193736.425
193837.165
193940.440
194042.9685,823
194148.9616,333
194272.4228,630
1943136.69615,084
1944201.00321,146
1945258.68226,291
1946269.42225,177
1947258.28621,352
1948252.29218,730
1949252.77017,839
1950257.35718,117
1951255.22216,758
1952259.10516,078
1953266.07115,950
1954271.26015,790
1955274.37415,578
1956272.75114,836
1957270.52713,927
1958276.34313,583
1959284.70613,550
1960286.33113,172
1961288.97112,903
1962298.20112,979
1963305.86012,966
1964311.71312,881
1965317.27412,727
1966319.90712,415
1967326.22112,155
1968347.57812,387
1969353.72011,937
1970370.91911,749
1971398.13011,848
1972427.26012,008
1973458.14212,226
1974475.06011,726
1975533.18911,811
1976620.43312,726
1977698.84013,233
1978771.54413,546
1979826.51913,278
1980907.70113,258
1981997.85513,142
19821,142.03413,929
19831,377.21015,950
19841,572.26617,425
19851,823.10319,379
19862,125.30321,894
19872,350.27723,472
19882,602.33824,944
19892,857.43126,079
19903,233.31328,151
19913,665.30330,404
19924,064.62132,459
19934,411.48933,977
19944,692.75034,945
19954,973.98335,844
19965,224.81136,527
19975,413.14636,742
19985,526.19336,616
19995,656.27136,599
20005,674.17835,575
20015,807.46335,197
20026,228.23636,810
20036,783.23138,974
20047,379.05341,015
20057,932.71042,395
20068,506.97443,617
20079,007.65344,518
200810,024.72548,084
200911,909.82956,051
201013,561.62362,746
201114,790.34066,557
201216,066.24170,462
201316,738.18471,561
201417,824.07174,252
201518,150.61874,254
201619,573.44578,828
201720,244.90079,627
201821,516.05882,302
201922,719.40284,900
202026,945.39198,986
202128,428.919100,796
202230,928.912101,853
202333,167.334103,549
202435,464.674107,026
202537,637.553110,069
202640,171.825113,869

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Higgins Strategy. “Debt per resident has more than quadrupled since 1946, in fiscal 2025 dollars” Exhibit 1, The Debt, the Waste and the Tax (Study X). October 12, 2026. https://higginsstrategy.com/charts/10-01-federal-debt-1790-2026/