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In 2020, the federal government spent $3.13 trillion more than it collected, resulting in a deficit.

How did we end up with a deficit? A deficit occurs when the money going out exceeds the money coming in. Since the federal government spent $6.55 trillion and collected $3.42 trillion in 2020, the government ran a deficit for the year.

What is the deficit and how does that compare to the national debt?

How else does the government finance a deficit?

The government can also use operating cash, which is available from an account at the Federal Reserve, to pay for deficit spending. This would be similar to an individual using their debit card to pay for purchases.

How has the federal deficit changed over time?

When you are done here, we encourage you to explore trends in the federal deficit since 2000.

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How much is $3.13 trillion in deficit spending? If you take the U.S. population estimate in 2020 of 330.3 million people (U.S. Census Bureau), $3.13 trillion would be equivalent to a little less than $9,500 in deficit spending for every individual in the U.S.

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In this visualization, one dot represents $1 billion.

Data Sources and Methodology

This visualization was created using the Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS) as the data source for federal government revenue, spending, and deficit and the  Monthly Statement of the Public Debt (MSPD) as the data source of federal debt.

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