# Public vs intragovernmental debt | PIER20 benchmarks

How much U.S. debt is held by the public versus the government itself?

U.S. federal debt splits into debt held by the public. Bonds, bills, notes, TIPS and FRNs traded in markets. And intragovernmental holdings. The government's debt to itself, predominantly the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. This page charts both halves so the market debt is separable from the trust-fund accounting. 

As of **7 Aug 2026**, the latest readings are Debt held by the public at **32144.62 $bn** and Intragovernmental holdings at **7740.63 $bn**. The Debt held by the public line is up 8.4% over the past year and above its long-run median of 16893.14 $bn.

## Summary statistics (full history)

| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt held by the public | 11577.11 | 32144.62 | 11559.95 | 32148.91 |
| Intragovernmental holdings | 4855.59 | 7740.63 | 4751.60 | 7805.38 |

## Last 24 readings

| Date | Debt held by the public | Intragovernmental holdings |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | 31696.80 | 7718.18 |
| Jul 2026 | 31695.88 | 7699.10 |
| Jul 2026 | 31709.40 | 7704.78 |
| Jul 2026 | 31707.32 | 7705.66 |
| Jul 2026 | 31707.77 | 7710.14 |
| Jul 2026 | 31751.11 | 7719.04 |
| Jul 2026 | 31793.48 | 7695.14 |
| Jul 2026 | 31818.45 | 7700.41 |
| Jul 2026 | 31816.92 | 7764.93 |
| Jul 2026 | 31817.64 | 7770.60 |
| Jul 2026 | 31874.80 | 7785.57 |
| Jul 2026 | 31874.68 | 7761.12 |
| Jul 2026 | 31911.92 | 7765.02 |
| Jul 2026 | 31922.91 | 7769.47 |
| Jul 2026 | 31923.70 | 7790.26 |
| Jul 2026 | 31995.28 | 7801.87 |
| Jul 2026 | 31994.68 | 7804.94 |
| Jul 2026 | 32035.73 | 7805.38 |
| Jul 2026 | 32045.86 | 7725.75 |
| Aug 2026 | 32038.12 | 7701.11 |
| Aug 2026 | 32100.70 | 7727.73 |
| Aug 2026 | 32101.18 | 7728.47 |
| Aug 2026 | 32148.91 | 7741.35 |
| Aug 2026 | 32144.62 | 7740.63 |

## How to read this benchmark

**What a widening or narrowing means.** A widening spread means debt held by the public is growing faster than intragovernmental debt. The portion the market prices is expanding. A narrowing spread means intragovernmental debt is catching up, typically when trust-fund surpluses grow. 

**Why Intragovernmental holdings as the comparator.** Intragovernmental holdings are the non-marketable counterweight: they account for roughly a quarter of total debt and grow with trust-fund payroll surpluses, not market issuance. 

**Limitations.** Public vs intragovernmental debt reflects published Treasury accounting. Revisions can alter historical comparisons. Treat the chart as context for U.S. fiscal conditions, not investment advice. 

## How this benchmark is used

**The market-debt share.** The public share of total debt is the metric the CBO and rating agencies reference when discussing the marketable federal debt burden. 

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the current public vs intragovernmental debt?**

As of 7 Aug 2026, the latest readings are Debt held by the public at 32144.62 $bn and Intragovernmental holdings at 7740.63 $bn. The Debt held by the public line is up 8.4% over the past year and above its long-run median of 16893.14 $bn.

**How often is this benchmark updated?**

This benchmark is built on daily data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.

**What data sources does this chart use?**

The chart is built from Debt held by the public and Intragovernmental holdings, sourced from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fiscal Data.

**How is this different from the total debt ceiling number?**

The total debt figure includes both public and intragovernmental. This page splits it so you can see which half is driving the total. 

**How often is the data updated?**

Daily, from the Daily Treasury Statement. 

## Methodology

- Formula: public = debt held by the public / 1e9; intragovernmental = intragovernmental holdings / 1e9
- Frequency: Daily
- Sources: Debt held by the public (debt-held-public) https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/; Intragovernmental holdings (intragovernmental) https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/. Data via the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fiscal Data.
- Data through: 7 Aug 2026
- Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026

Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/public-vs-intragovernmental-debt
Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.