Who owns the US national debt?

At the end of July 2026 the federal debt was $39.8 trillion. Other U.S. investors (banks, mutual funds, pension funds, state and local governments and people) held $18.3 trillion, 46%. Foreign investors held $9.2 trillion (23%), federal trust funds such as Social Security's held $7.7 trillion (19%), and the Federal Reserve $4.5 trillion (11%). Foreign holdings are Treasury's TIC estimate, partly at market value, and the U.S. share is what's left after the others, so the split is approximate.

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Chartly. “Who owns the US national debt?” Chart. Data: U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data, Debt to the Penny; U.S. Treasury, TIC Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities; Federal Reserve Bank of New York, SOMA Holdings, https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/ (data as of July 31, 2026). https://chart.ly/charts/who-owns-the-us-debt (accessed September 26, 2026).

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Owner Debt held in US dollars
Other U.S. investors 18,278,109,342,895
Foreign investors 9,248,100,000,000
Federal trust funds 7,725,753,468,003
Federal Reserve 4,519,654,351,569