3 minEconomy
U.S. national debt grows by $5.1 million per minute, reaching $117,279 per American
The U.S. national debt has increased by $5.1 million per minute over the past year, according to Congress's Joint Economic Committee. Gross debt now stands at $117,279 per person and $297,522 per household, with interest costs rising sharply.
The U.S. national debt has grown by $5.1 million per minute over the past year, according to a new analysis from Congress's Joint Economic Committee, which calculates that the gross national debt now amounts to $117,279 for every American.
The committee's monthly budget update, compiled under Chairman David Schweikert, found that public debt has increased by $85,111.72 per second over the past year. Gross national debt is now $2.67 trillion higher than it was at the same point last year and $11.68 trillion greater than five years ago, the report said.
At the current average daily rate of growth over the past three years, the U.S. would reach $41 trillion in debt by mid-January, the committee projected. An additional trillion-dollar increase would follow roughly 151 days later, around June 2027.
The debt is growing at an average of $7.35 billion per day, or $306.4 million per hour, according to the report. On a per-person basis, the debt load has risen by $7,806 per individual over the past year, while per-household debt has increased by nearly $20,000 to $297,522.
Michael Peterson, chairman and CEO of the Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan organization focused on fiscal sustainability, said Americans are effectively paying the cost of the debt even without receiving a direct bill. Speaking last month when debt surpassed $40 trillion, Peterson said heavy borrowing drives up interest rates, which increases household expenses through higher mortgage, car loan, and credit card costs, as well as broader inflation.
«So [we] may not get a bill at the end of the month for national debt, but [we] are paying that bill both in the form of taxes as well as an inflated level of expenses,» Peterson said.
Some analysts argue that the size of the debt has not triggered a market crisis despite years of warnings. They point to the Treasury market, where longer-dated yields are elevated but attributed partly to factors beyond debt concerns.
The cost of servicing the debt, however, continues to climb. The Joint Economic Committee noted that the average interest rate on total marketable national debt reached 3.475% in August 2026, up from 3.415% a year earlier and sharply higher than the 1.458% recorded five years ago.
«Interest rates have a significant impact on how much the U.S. pays on debt,» the committee's update said. Total interest paid to trust funds over the past 12 months reached $294.76 billion, an average of $24.56 billion per month.
The Treasury has recently attempted to stabilize the market through buybacks, but interest payments remain elevated compared with a year ago, according to the report.
