National Debt Clock
Comprehensive National Debt Metrics
Translating abstract numbers into everyday realities
Daily Essentials & Lifestyle
The US adds enough debt every 8 minutes to buy a $5 coffee for every American adult.
The daily interest on the national debt could cover an average family's groceries for 6.5 million years.
Your personal share of the national debt equals 3,800 years of all your streaming subscriptions combined.
Housing & Personal Finance
The daily interest on the national debt equals 4.2 million average mortgage payments.
The monthly interest payment could provide a 20% down payment on median-priced homes for 850,000 first-time buyers.
The annual interest on the national debt could pay off all current US student loan debt in 14 months.
Personal Opportunity Cost
Without debt interest payments, federal income tax rates could be reduced by approximately 25% across all brackets.
If your share of annual interest payments were invested in your retirement account instead, you could retire 5-7 years earlier.
If invested in index funds instead of debt service, your lifetime share of interest payments would grow to approximately $1.2 million by retirement age.
Traditional Markets
The national debt equals approximately 30 Apple companies at current market valuation.
The national debt represents about 90% of the entire US stock market capitalization.
The annual interest payment exceeds the combined annual revenue of the bottom 100 Fortune 500 companies.
Boomer vs. Younger Generations
When Boomers bought their first homes, the average price was 2× annual salary; today it's 7× annual salary.
College tuition has increased 1,200% since 1980, while the debt has increased 3,000%.
Boomers will receive approximately 3× more in Social Security benefits relative to their contributions than Gen Z will.
Credit Standards Double Standard
Using the FICO algorithm, the US government would have a credit score of approximately 530 - considered 'Very Poor' and ineligible for most credit products.
The government's debt-to-income ratio exceeds 130%, while it prohibits mortgage lenders from approving loans above 43%.
The government has raised its own credit limit (debt ceiling) 78 times since 1960 - a pattern that would trigger automatic credit line reductions for consumers.
National Investment Opportunities
One year of interest payments could rebuild every structurally deficient bridge in America and upgrade the entire electrical grid.
Three years of interest payments could establish a comprehensive universal healthcare system while reducing overall costs.
Five years of interest payments could make all public colleges and universities tuition-free permanently.