US Interest vs. Defense Spending, 1947–2026

About this chart

The red line is what the federal government pays in interest on its debt; the blue line is what it spends on national defense, both quarterly at an annual rate. A gap line joins the two once a year, and the bright one at the leading edge is the gap in the current quarter, with its value beside it. Short notes mark the moments that matter, and a diamond marks the point where the two lines cross. The animation runs the record over fifty-six seconds, holds on the latest quarter for three seconds, and loops. The scrubber pauses on any quarter, and the gap lines (every year or every quarter) and the speed can be changed in the controls.

Method

Interest is federal government current expenditures on interest payments (Bureau of Economic Analysis, FRED series A091RC1Q027SBEA). Defense is federal national defense consumption expenditures and gross investment (BEA, FRED series FDEFX). Both are quarterly, seasonally adjusted, at annual rates, from the first quarter of 1947. The gap is the difference between the two in each quarter; the crossing point is placed between the two quarters on either side of it in proportion to their values. Three notes mark moments found in the data: the one quarter before 2024 in which interest edged ahead (the first quarter of 1998), defense's widest lead (the first quarter of 2010), and the crossing after which interest has stayed ahead (early 2024). The last quarter is the latest published.

Data sources

Updated Q2 2026

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