About USA Debt Cap
A live look at the U.S. national debt — in $100 bills you can almost feel — built from the Treasury's own numbers.
Why this site exists
"Forty trillion dollars" is too big to mean anything. We wanted to make it something you can see: an ocean of real $100 bills, a spigot pouring in about 770 more every second, and a stack rising past the skyline, through the clouds and out toward the Moon. If people understand the size of the debt, they can have a better conversation about it.
Nonpartisan, on purpose
The debt has grown under presidents and Congresses of both parties, and people disagree honestly about what to do about it. This site doesn't take a side. It shows the numbers as the Treasury reports them and explains what they mean.
Where the numbers come from
- The live debt counter starts from the Treasury's "Debt to the Penny" report, published every business day, and adds the past year's average pace of borrowing in between.
- The debt ceiling countdown uses the debt limit and "debt subject to the limit" from the Daily Treasury Statement.
- History, interest and ownership come from the Treasury's Historical Debt Outstanding, Interest Expense, Average Interest Rates and Treasury International Capital data, and the Federal Reserve's H.4.1 release.
- Bill sizes and weights come from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The $100 note image is a public-domain U.S. Treasury image.
Live figures load straight from the Treasury's public data service, so they update on their own.
The Debt Cap
We also make The Debt Cap: a black dad hat printed with the exact national debt at the moment you order, plus the date. No two have the same number. Caps are made to order and shipped by our print partner, Printful. The site is supported by those sales and by advertising.
Who we are
USA Debt Cap is an independent project of Aeralas LLC, a small U.S. business. We're not affiliated with the U.S. government or any political party or group.
Questions, corrections or press inquiries: contact us. Read our privacy policy.
Wear the number. The Debt Cap is printed with the exact national debt at the moment you order — no two are alike.
See The Debt Cap