US National Debt in Single-Family Homes, 1966–2026
Topic: Government & Debt
In this chart: US federal debt, Median new-house price
About this chart
The line is the US national debt, expressed in single-family homes: the dollar amount divided by the median price of a new single-family house that month. The house at its tip is the median price of a new single-family house; its area is proportional to it, so a house with twice the area is twice the value. The animation runs the record over forty-one seconds, holds on the latest month for three seconds, and loops. The scrubber under the chart marks the years and pauses on any month, and the house 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. Home price is the median sales price of new single-family houses sold in the United States, not seasonally adjusted (FRED series MSPNHSUS, from the Census Bureau's New Residential Sales release). Homes are debt divided by price. Three notes mark moments found in the data: the first month above 50 million homes (January 2009), the largest rise over twelve months (to April 2020), and the first month above 100 million (July 2026). The series ends at the latest complete month.
Data sources
- FRED GFDEBTN — Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- US Treasury Fiscal Data — Debt to the Penny
- FRED MSPNHSUS — Median Sales Price for New Houses Sold in the United States
Updated August 2026
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