US Public Debt Hits 100.03% of GDP, First Fiscal-Year Breach Since 1946
Updated
Updated · 24/7 Wall St. · Oct 29
US Public Debt Hits 100.03% of GDP, First Fiscal-Year Breach Since 1946
3 articles · Updated · 24/7 Wall St. · Oct 29
Summary
$32.2 trillion in debt held by the public equaled 100.03% of GDP for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the first official fiscal-year reading above 100% since 1946.
The ratio rose from 99.4% a year earlier after decades of tax cuts, crisis spending and aging-driven Social Security and Medicare costs under both parties, though it came in below the CBO's 100.6% forecast.
That milestone is still fragile: the U.S. had already crossed 100% on an intrayear basis, and small GDP revisions or Treasury issuance changes could still move the final fiscal-year figure back below the line.
The bigger pressure point is interest costs, with the fiscal 2026 deficit near $2 trillion, the 10-year Treasury yield at 5.05%, and rates just 0.1 point above CBO assumptions adding $379 billion over a decade.
Congress also faces a 2032 Social Security trust-fund deadline, after which only 78% of scheduled benefits could be paid unless lawmakers act.