US National Debt in Barrels of Oil, 1966–2026
Topic: Government & Debt
In this chart: US federal debt, WTI crude oil price
About this chart
The line is the US national debt, expressed in barrels of oil: the dollar amount divided by the price of a barrel of WTI crude that month. The barrel at its tip is the price of a barrel of WTI crude; its area is proportional to it, so a barrel with twice the area is twice the value. The animation runs the record over thirty-eight seconds, holds on the latest month for two seconds, and loops. The scrubber under the chart marks the years and pauses on any month, and the barrel scaling and the speed can be changed in the controls.
Method
Debt is total public debt outstanding. Through March 1993 it is the quarter-end value from FRED series GFDEBTN, with the months between quarter-ends interpolated; from April 1993 it is the last business day of each month from the US Treasury's Debt to the Penny. Oil is the monthly spot price of West Texas Intermediate crude, in dollars per barrel (FRED series WTISPLC, the St. Louis Fed's splice of its two WTI series, from Energy Information Administration data). Barrels are debt divided by price. The series ends at the latest complete month, because a month's oil price is not known until the month is over.
Data sources
- FRED GFDEBTN — Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- US Treasury Fiscal Data — Debt to the Penny
- FRED WTISPLC — Spot Crude Oil Price: West Texas Intermediate
Updated August 2026
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