National Debt API

GET

Track US national debt and public debt figures down to the penny.

National Debt provides real-time access to the US national debt (Debt to the Penny). It returns the total public debt, debt held by the public, intragovernmental holdings, and per-capita debt calculations.

Try it — live request, no key required

Request

GETapi.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt

Verification

Format

No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.

Example

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "date": "2026-09-14",
    "recordDate": "2026-09-14",
    "totalDebt": 40054421967786.91,
    "totalDebtFormatted": "$40.05 trillion",
    "publicDebt": 32358452350574.73,
    "publicDebtFormatted": "$32.36 trillion",
    "intragovernmentalDebt": 7695969617212.18,
    "intragovernmentalDebtFormatted": "$7.70 trillion",
    "perCapita": 119565,
    "perCapitaFormatted": "$119,565",
    "population": 335000000,
    "publicDebtRatio": 80.79,
    "perHousehold": 298913.6,
    "perHouseholdFormatted": "$298,914"
  }
}

About the National Debt API

National Debt sources data directly from the US Treasury Fiscal Data API, which is updated daily. Historical data is available back to 1993, enabling trend analysis and historical comparisons.

What people use it for

Financial Dashboards: Display real-time national debt figures on financial dashboards and economic monitoring tools
Economic Research: Analyze historical debt trends for economic research and policy analysis
Educational Tools: Build educational applications showing government debt and per-capita calculations
News Applications: Provide up-to-date debt figures for news and media applications

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON: Default REST response
XML: Markup format
YAML: Human-readable
CSV: Tabular export
GraphQL: Query language
MCP: For AI agents

View all integrations →

Other ways to use National Debt

Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.

Give it to an AI agentConnect over MCP and your agent calls it as a native tool — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.on VerveKit Google Sheets or ExcelA =VERVE() formula fills a column — no script, no export, recalculates in place.on VerveSheets Ground an agent on itA cited, machine-checkable fact your model can't produce on its own.on VerveContext

Questions.

Common questions about the National Debt API.

Read the docs →

How far back does historical debt data go?

Historical debt figures are available back to 1993. You can pass any specific date in YYYY-MM-DD format to retrieve historical figures, or omit the date to pull the latest daily data.

Is it cheap enough to query US debt figures on every dashboard load?

Yes. Each lookup costs 2 credits, which works out to about $0.0003 per call on the Starter plan, or $0.30 per 1,000 calls. Starter includes 200,000 credits, covering up to 100,000 requests each month. The Free plan includes 200 credits, giving you 100 monthly calls for testing.

Are per-capita and per-household debt estimates included on the Free plan?

No. Per-capita debt, per-household debt, and intragovernmental debt holdings are premium fields that require a paid plan. The Free plan provides total national debt, debt held by the public, and the public debt ratio.

Where does the national debt data come from?

Data is sourced directly from the US Treasury Fiscal Data API. Updates are published daily to reflect official Debt to the Penny records.

Can I display these debt figures in a commercial financial dashboard?

Yes, provided you are on a paid plan. Commercial use requires Starter or above, while the Free plan is strictly for non-commercial evaluation. You can present the data in your software or reports, but you cannot resell or redistribute the raw dataset.

Request parameters — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.

Optional

Parameter	Type	Example	Description
`date`Optional	string	`2023-06-15`	Optional date in YYYY-MM-DD format for historical lookup. Omit for current data. date

Example request

1
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curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt?date=2023-06-15" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.

Header	When	Value
`x-api-key`Required	Every request	Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so `X-API-Key` is the same header.
`Authorization`Alternate	Instead of the above	`Bearer <key>` — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing.

401 is the only auth verdict

A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.

Response — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.

Sample response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "date": "2026-09-14",
    "recordDate": "2026-09-14",
    "totalDebt": 40054421967786.91,
    "totalDebtFormatted": "$40.05 trillion",
    "publicDebt": 32358452350574.73,
    "publicDebtFormatted": "$32.36 trillion",
    "intragovernmentalDebt": 7695969617212.18,
    "intragovernmentalDebtFormatted": "$7.70 trillion",
    "perCapita": 119565,
    "perCapitaFormatted": "$119,565",
    "population": 335000000,
    "publicDebtRatio": 80.79,
    "perHousehold": 298913.6,
    "perHouseholdFormatted": "$298,914"
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Field	Type	Example	Description
`date`	string	`"2026-09-14"`	Date of the national debt data (YYYY-MM-DD format)
`recordDate`	string	`"2026-09-14"`	Treasury record date the figures come from (YYYY-MM-DD); the nearest prior business day when the requested date has no record
`totalDebt`	number	`40054421967786.91`	Total US national debt in dollars
`totalDebtFormatted`	string	`"$40.05 trillion"`	Total debt formatted as readable currency string
`publicDebt`	number	`32358452350574.73`	US debt held by the public in dollars
`publicDebtFormatted`	string	`"$32.36 trillion"`	Public debt formatted as readable currency string
`intragovernmentalDebt`Premium	number	`7695969617212.18`	Intragovernmental debt holdings in dollars
`intragovernmentalDebtFormatted`Premium	string	`"$7.70 trillion"`	Intragovernmental debt formatted as currency string
`perCapita`Premium	number	`119565`	Estimated national debt per person in dollars
`perCapitaFormatted`Premium	string	`"$119,565"`	Per capita debt formatted as currency string
`population`	number	`335000000`	US population used for per capita calculations
`publicDebtRatio`	number	`80.79`	Public debt as percentage of total debt
`perHousehold`Premium	number	`298913.6`	Estimated national debt per household in dollars
`perHouseholdFormatted`Premium	string	`"$298,914"`	Per household debt formatted as currency string

Response headers

Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.

Header	What it carries
`x-api-remaining-credits`	Credits left in the current cycle
`x-api-credits-used`	Credits spent in the current cycle
`x-api-max-credits`	The allowance for the cycle
`x-api-version`	Version of the endpoint that answered

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.

Status	Meaning	What to do
`400`	Input was rejected	Read `error`; it names the parameter that has to change.
`401`	Key missing or invalid	Check the header name and the key value.
`403`	Key valid, but not permitted here	A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key.
`429`	Rate limited, or out of credits	Read `error` to tell them apart, then back off or top up.

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.

Plan	Per month	Credits	National Debt calls	Per 1,000 calls
Free	Free	200	100	Free
Starter	$29.99	200,000	100,000	$0.30
Pro	$99.99	1,000,000	500,000	$0.20
Mega	$299.99	4,000,000	2,000,000	$0.15

Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.

Compare all pricing tiers →

Call it from cURL — GET /v1/nationaldebt

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/nationaldebt with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

cURL

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2

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Resources

GitHubapiverve/nationaldebt-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceNational Debt API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/nationaldebtnpm APIVerve.API.NationalDebtNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Install the Node.js SDK, then call the National Debt API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — npm

npm install @apiverve/nationaldebt

Node.js

const res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt", {
  headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Resources

npm@apiverve/nationaldebtThe published Node.js client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/nationaldebt-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceNational Debt API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

APIVerve.API.NationalDebtNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Python — GET /v1/nationaldebt

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/nationaldebt with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Python

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt",
    headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/nationaldebtnpm APIVerve.API.NationalDebtNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the National Debt API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — NuGet

dotnet add package APIVerve.API.NationalDebt

C# / .NET

using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");

var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt");
Console.WriteLine(json);

Resources

NuGetAPIVerve.API.NationalDebtThe published C# / .NET client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/nationaldebt-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceNational Debt API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/nationaldebtnpm

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Go — GET /v1/nationaldebt

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/nationaldebt with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")

res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/nationaldebtnpm APIVerve.API.NationalDebtNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from PHP — GET /v1/nationaldebt

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/nationaldebt with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

PHP

$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/nationaldebtnpm APIVerve.API.NationalDebtNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/nationaldebt

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/nationaldebt with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Ruby

require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/nationaldebt")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"

res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.body

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/nationaldebtnpm APIVerve.API.NationalDebtNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Finance

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National Debt API

Try it — live request, no key required

About the National Debt API

What people use it for

Ways to call it

Other ways to use National Debt

Questions.

Request parameters — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Optional

Authentication

Response — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Response fields

Response headers

Errors

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Call it from cURL — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Python — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Go — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Call it from PHP — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/nationaldebt

Resources

Also published for

Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend

Changelog — National Debt API

Finance

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