Here’s a number that should make your morning coffee taste a little more bitter: the US national debt, when combined with unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare, now works out to roughly $1 million per American household.
The gross federal debt hit $39.23 trillion as of June 8, 2026. But it’s the off-balance-sheet obligations, the promises the government has made but hasn’t funded, that push the per-household number into territory that feels less like fiscal policy and more like science fiction.
The numbers behind the milestone
The $39.23 trillion gross federal debt consists of two pieces: $31.6 trillion in public debt held externally, meaning bonds owned by investors, foreign governments, and institutions, and $7.63 trillion in intragovernmental holdings, essentially money the government owes itself through trust funds like Social Security.
But that’s just the debt that shows up on the books. Unfunded liabilities for Social Security clock in at approximately $25 trillion. Medicare’s unfunded obligations are even larger, sitting around $53 trillion.
