The National Debt Burden Grows for U.S. Households

When President Biden was sworn into office on 20 January 2021, the U.S. national debt stood at $27.75 trillion. Three years later, as President Biden celebrated his third anniversary in the White House, the U.S. national debt was sitting at $34.07 trillion. That’s an increase of 6.32 trillion dollars or 22.8% in three years.

These are all very big numbers that are hard to appreciate on a human scale. But they become a lot easier to understand when we divide them up equally among all the households in the United States.

When we do that math, 2021′s national debt total of $27.75 trillion becomes $216,050, which represents the national debt burden per household before any of President Biden’s spending initiatives were implemented.

Three years of President Biden’s spending initiatives later, we find the household burden of 2024′s national debt total of $34.07 trillion is $259,235. The burden of the national debt per household has increased by $43,185, or 20%, during President Biden’s three years in office.

The following chart shows the level of the household burden of the national debt at each of President Biden’s anniversaries in the White House. In it, we’ve also shown how much of the nation’s debt is owed to its creditors by major category.

The year-over-year increase in the national debt burden per household in President Biden’s third year in office is the largest of his presidency.

Keeping the discussion at the human scale, last year, we found that the increase in the national debt through President Biden’s first two years in office would be enough to pay for what was then a brand new 2023 Suburu Impreza.

One year later, we find the national debt increase under President Biden is almost the equivalent of buying a brand new 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid for every one of the estimated 131,434,000 households in the United States. Plus an extra $137 in cash. As automobiles go, it sounds like an upgrade and who doesn’t like the idea of the government borrowing money if it means you get cash too?

But do you feel like your household has received that much value from three years worth of President Biden’s debt-fueled spending? And how well does that extra debt fit with all the other debts your household has? Can your household afford that extra debt bill on top of all the others?

Exit question: What kind of car do you think President Biden’s contributions to the national debt burden per household would be able to buy for every single U.S. household next year?

References

U.S. Census Bureau. Historical Households Tables. Table HH-1. Households by Type: 1940 to Present. [Excel Spreadsheet]. 21 November 2023. Accessed 23 January 2024.

U.S. Treasury Department. Debt to the Penny. [Online Database]. 19 January 2024. Accessed 22 January 2024. Note: As 20 January 2024 fell on a Saturday when the U.S. Treasury Department’s debt window is closed, with no changes to national debt taking place, the national debt recorded for 19 Janaury 2024 is the appropriate reference for President Biden’s third anniversary in office.

U.S. Treasury Department. Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities. [Online Data]. Accessed 23 January 2024.

U.S. Treasury Department. Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2024 Through December 31, 2023. [PDF Document]. 11 January 2024.

Image credit: Microsoft Bing Image Creator. Prompt: “An editorial cartoon illustrating the burden of the national debt on American households.”