The Daily Brief | Federal Spending
National debt rises $88.8 billion in a single day
Treasury data shows the national debt reached $40.26T on October 1, up $88.8 billion from the prior day, as daily withdrawals outpaced deposits by $90.3 billion.
Key takeaways
- The national debt stood at $40.26T on October 1, 2026, an increase of $88.8 billion from September 30.
- The Daily Treasury Statement for October 1 recorded $373.7 billion in deposits and $464.0 billion in withdrawals, a net outflow of $90.3 billion.
- Debt per resident now sits at $117,421, and the one-day increase alone equals about $259 per resident.
What the numbers show
The Treasury's debt-to-the-penny records show the total public debt outstanding at $40.26T on October 1, up $88.8 billion from the prior day's total. That one-day increase is the largest day-over-day move in recent weeks, larger than the $74.9 billion rise recorded on September 30. Over the roughly two months covered by the Treasury's trend data, the debt has grown at an average pace of about $6.66 billion per day, or roughly $77,074 per second.
October 1 is the first day of the new federal fiscal year, a point when large balances routinely move through Treasury accounts. Debt per resident, using the Census population figure of 342,875,301, now stands at $117,421.
Where the money moved
The Daily Treasury Statement tracks the government's operating cash, not the same thing as debt issuance. On October 1 it showed $373.7 billion flowing in through deposits and $464.0 billion flowing out through withdrawals, leaving a net daily outflow of $90.3 billion.
Separately, USAspending data shows that federal agencies obligated $2.10 billion across 4,417 award transactions on October 1. The single largest award that day was a $153.0 million Department of Veterans Affairs order to AT&T Enterprises for enterprise data network services, a routine enterprise IT contract.
Sources
1. https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny
2. https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/daily-treasury-statement/operating-cash-balance
3. https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_36C10A20F0309_3600_GS00Q17NSD3000_4732/
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Daily Treasury Statement, September 28, 2026; Debt to the Penny.
Sources
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Daily Treasury Statement — operating cash balance, September 28, 2026 (fiscaldata.treasury.gov)
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Debt to the Penny — September 28, 2026 (fiscaldata.treasury.gov)
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