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Defense Spending In 20th Century

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Spending Units: By default, government spending is displayed in billions of dollars. But using a dropdown control in the table heading you can select billions of 2017 dollars, percent of GDP, 2017 dollars per capita, percent of federal spending, or percent of total spending.
Chart Title: You can create a title for your chart. Use the text field to enter a title and click the button to the right of the text field.
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View: There are many ways to view the spending data. The default view is functional. There is a census view that conforms with the spending categories used by the US Census Bureau in its Statistical Abstract. There is a COFOG view that categorizes spending using the UN methodology.
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US Budget Year: By default, the chart displays budgeted and estimated federal spending in the current US Budget submitted to the Congress by the president. But you can look at previous budgeted numbers using this dropdown control.
Mandatory: By default the chart shows all spending without regard to mandatory or discretionary. Select Mandatory if you want to chart only federal Mandatory spending, Discretionary if you want to chart only federal Discretionary spending, Both if you want both federal Mandatory and Discretionary spending broken out using the dropdown control in the table heading.

Data Range

Start Year: You can select any start year you want using the dropdown control in the table heading. At the top and bottom of the dropdown only years ending in “0” are shown. Select a start year to get close, then select the start year you want.
End Year: You can select any end year you want using the dropdown control in the table heading. At the top and bottom of the dropdown only years ending in “0” are shown. Select an end year to get close, then select the end year you want.
Category (max 7)Sub-categoryFed Gov. 
Xfer 
State Local Total   
 
Data Series: Select a spending series you want to chart from a dropdown on the left. If you select on the bottom dropdown you will add a data series (up to a maximum of five). The right-hand dropdown allows you to replace a data series with a more narrowly focused series. Click the “X” link to remove a data series from the chart.
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If you’d like to create your own custom chart of spending data you should use the table above to make your selections.

  • Select the year range: Select the start year and the end year you want by selecting the years you want in the two year dropdown boxes.
  • Select spending items: Just select the spending item you want from the dropdown control. Then click a radio button to select the level of government: federal, state, or local. If you select from the < select > you will add another data series to your chart. Up to 5 data series are allowed at once. Click the “X” link to remove a data series from the chart.
  • Select units: You can select the display in billions of nominal (i.e. inflated) dollars, billions of real (i.e. year 2017) dollars, or as percent of GDP.
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Download Tab-delimited Data

Copy and Paste: To copy and paste data into spreadsheet for analysis, just copy the tab-delimited text in the textbox below (click cursor in text box, then press ctrl-A then press ctrl-C) and paste it into your spreadsheet.

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Below is a formatted version of the data displayed in the chart.

Defense Spending In 20th Century
Fiscal Years 1792 to 2022
YearInflationGDP-US
$ billion nominal
Population-US
million
Defense - Federal
percent GDP
17922.15MW gdpa4.1730.53a
17933.36MW gdpa4.3000.47a
179412.43MW gdpa4.4321.49a
179515.33MW gdpa4.5670.76a
17965.43MW gdpa4.7070.39a
1797-3.73MW gdpa4.8500.36a
1798-3.4MW gdpa4.9980.84a
17990.05MW gdpa5.1511.21a
18003.02MW gdpa5.3081.25a
18012.12MW gdpa5.4760.74a
1802-15.45MW gdpa5.6480.48a
18036.42MW gdpa5.8260.43a
18045.24MW gdpa6.0100.40a
18050.09MW gdpa6.1990.42a
18065.33MW gdpa6.3950.47a
1807-4.74MW gdpa6.5960.52a
18089.53MW gdpa6.8040.75a
1809-1.38MW gdpa7.0190.84a
1810-2.66MW gdpa7.2400.56a
18114.14MW gdpa7.4500.53a
1812-1.54MW gdpa7.6662.00a
181317.58MW gdpa7.8892.67a
18147.04MW gdpa8.1182.55a
1815-15.02MW gdpa8.3542.52a
1816-11.44MW gdpa8.5962.43a
1817-8.48MW gdpa8.8461.49a
1818-7.75MW gdpa9.1021.27a
1819-3.28MW gdpa9.3671.74a
1820-6.31MW gdpa9.6381.42a
1821-1.87MW gdpa9.9211.08a
18225.89MW gdpa10.2120.89a
1823-9.28MW gdpa10.5110.96a
1824-6.66MW gdpa10.8191.02a
18254.52MW gdpa11.1360.96a
18261.82MW gdpa11.4621.11a
18272.6MW gdpa11.7980.99a
1828-3.4MW gdpa12.1440.99a
1829-0.15MW gdpa12.5000.96a
18300.66MW gdpa12.8660.91a
1831-5.19MW gdpa13.2350.93a
18320.48MW gdpa13.6140.93a
1833-0.47MW gdpa14.0051.30a
18343.55MW gdpa14.4060.97a
18354.68MW gdpa14.8190.85a
18367.36MW gdpa15.2441.39a
18374.13MW gdpa15.6821.46a
1838-1.33MW gdpa16.1311.31a
18391.41MW gdpa16.5941.08a
1840-5.5MW gdpa17.0700.99a
18412.74MW gdpa17.6011.02a
1842-5.28MW gdpa18.1491.00a
1843-8.05MW gdpa18.7140.47a
18442.94MW gdpa19.2960.80a
18452.88MW gdpa19.8970.76a
18462.93MW gdpa20.5160.90a
18479.93MW gdpa21.1541.94a
1848-2.65MW gdpa21.8131.45a
1849-1.72MW gdpa22.4921.04a
18502.09MW gdpa23.1920.72a
1851-2.53MW gdpa23.9090.83a
18521MW gdpa24.6480.62a
1853-0.2MW gdpa25.4090.67a
18548.67MW gdpa26.1950.63a
18552.91MW gdpa27.0040.73a
1856-2.19MW gdpa27.8390.79a
18572.77MW gdpa28.6990.79a
1858-6.14MW gdpa29.5860.98a
18590.88MW gdpa30.5010.87a
1860-1.87MW gdpa31.4430.66a
18614.06MW gdpa32.0910.78a
186213.42MW gdpa32.7537.45a
186324.05MW gdpa33.4288.57a
186422.88MW gdpa34.1178.14a
18651.61MW gdpa34.82011.69a
1866-4.37MW gdpa35.5373.77a
1867-8.99MW gdpa36.2701.74a
1868-6.26MW gdpa37.0172.09a
1869-6.46MW gdpa37.7801.59a
1870-4.36MW gdpa38.5581.36a
1871-6.63MW gdpa39.5881.16a
18720.03MW gdpa40.6461.01a
1873-2.17MW gdpa41.7321.11a
1874-4.92MW gdpa42.8471.18a
1875-3.61MW gdpa43.9911.11a
1876-2.33MW gdpa45.1661.01a
1877-2.41MW gdpa46.3730.92a
1878-4.88MW gdpa47.6120.90a
18790.03MW gdpa48.8830.95a
18802.44MW gdpa50.1891.02a
1881-0.28MW gdpa51.3420.89a
1882-0.26MW gdpa52.5210.96a
1883-1.93MW gdpa53.7261.03a
1884-2.68MW gdpa54.9600.93a
1885-1.95MW gdpa56.2220.96a
1886-3.06MW gdpa57.5130.89a
18870.67MW gdpa58.8330.95a
1888-0.26MW gdpa60.1840.95a
1889-2.96MW gdpa61.5661.07a
1890-0.89MW gdpa62.9801.11a
18911.02MW gdpa64.1921.25a
18921.05MW gdpa65.4281.24a
18930.06MW gdpa66.6881.50a
1894-3.52MW gdpa67.9721.56a
1895-1.11MW gdpa69.2811.38a
18960.95MW gdpa70.6151.36a
1897-0.05MW gdpa71.9741.35a
18981.04MW gdpa73.3601.60a
18990.99MW gdpa74.7732.15a
19002.92MW gdpa76.2121.56a
19012.95MW gdpa77.6801.50a
19022.9MW gdpa79.1761.24a
19034.83MW gdpa80.7011.18i
19042.57MW gdpa82.2551.23i
19050.81MW gdpa83.8391.13i
19063.71MW gdpa85.4531.09i
19076.49MW gdpa87.0991.03i
1908-0.18MW gdpa88.7761.19i
1909-1.49MW gdpa90.4861.16i
19102.63MW gdpa92.2291.15i
1911-0.49MW gdpa93.5231.16i
19124.17MW gdpa94.8361.10i
19130.75MW gdpa96.1671.08a
19140.86MW gdpa97.5161.16i
19153.29MW gdpa98.8851.09i
191614.48MW gdpa100.2730.85i
191722.75MW gdpa101.6802.67i
191818MW gdpa103.10715.68i
19192.49MW gdpa104.55421.79i
192013.78MW gdpa106.0225.23i
1921-14.44MW gdpa107.6263.98i
1922-5.79MW gdpa109.2541.76a
19233.15MW gdpa110.9081.47i
1924-1.28MW gdpa112.5861.42i
19251.82MW gdpa114.2901.34i
19260.5MW gdpa116.0191.24i
1927-2.42MW gdpa117.7751.26a
19280.76MW gdpa119.5571.31i
19290.68MW gdpa121.3661.31i
1930-3.3592.16a123.2031.59i
1931-9.6277.391a124.0712.02i
1932-10.1959.522a124.9452.81a
1933-2.7457.154a125.8252.41i
19346.0766.8a126.7121.62a
19352.2374.241a127.6052.52i
19361.3884.83a128.5043.13a
19374.5193.003a129.4102.31i
1938-2.7687.352a130.3211.89a
1939-1.0693.437a131.2402.04i
19401.31102.899a132.1652.10a
19417.95129.309a133.9665.60i
19429.45165.952a135.79216.32a
19435.35203.084a137.64334.69i
19442.57224.447a139.51938.36a
19452.56228.007a141.42141.12i
194611.4227.535a143.34923.44a
194710.85249.616a145.3039.14i
19485.84274.468a147.2837.19a
1949-0.17272.475a149.2918.07i
19501.35299.827a151.3268.08a
19517.66346.914a153.9178.42a
19521.8367.341a156.55214.07a
19531.27389.218a159.23214.63a
19540.92390.549a161.95813.53a
19551.81425.478a164.73111.09a
19563.48449.353a167.55110.48a
19573.39474.039a170.42010.82a
19582.26481.229a173.33710.75a
19591.47521.654a176.30510.35a
19601.4542.382a179.3239.83a
19611.09562.209a181.58810.14a
19621.29603.922a183.88110.53a
19631.19637.45a186.20410.08a
19641.61684.46a188.5559.55a
19651.95742.289a190.9378.30a
19662.99813.414a193.3488.56a
19672.98859.959a195.7909.74a
19684.47940.651a198.26310.02a
19695.061017.62a200.7669.31a
19705.291073.3a203.3028.82a
19715.241164.85a205.5157.97a
19724.551279.11a207.7527.40a
19735.791425.38a210.0136.51a
19748.951545.24a212.2996.37a
19759.241684.9a214.6096.54a
19765.81873.41a216.9456.11a
19776.52081.83a219.3075.84a
19787.422351.6a221.6945.57a
19798.562627.33a224.1075.47a
19809.012857.31a226.5465.88a
19819.73207.04a228.6706.04a
19826.073343.79a230.8156.63a
19834.13634.04a232.9796.79a
19843.874037.61a235.1646.66a
19853.294338.98a237.3696.80a
19862.084579.63a239.5956.85a
19872.564855.22a241.8426.60a
19883.675236.44a244.1106.31a
19894.065641.58a246.3996.08a
19903.815963.14a248.7105.74a
19913.386158.13a251.8025.20a
19922.366520.33a254.9335.35a
19932.436858.56a258.1035.02a
19942.227287.24a261.3124.62a
19952.157639.75a264.5614.27a
19961.98073.12a267.8503.92a
19971.88577.55a271.1803.79a
19981.179062.82a274.5523.56a
19991.489631.17a277.9663.46a
20002.3610251a282.1723.50a
20012.2710581.9a285.0823.46a
20021.5810929.1a287.8043.86a
20032.0311456.4a290.3264.21a
20042.7912217.2a293.0464.44a
20053.2413039.2a295.7534.60a
20063.1713815.6a298.5934.50a
20072.7614474.2a301.5804.51a
20081.9314769.9a304.3754.94a
20090.614478.1a307.0075.48a
20101.2515049a309.3275.63a
20112.115599.7a311.5835.63a
20121.916254a313.8785.16a
20131.7416880.7a316.0604.85a
20141.7917608.1a318.3864.54a
20150.9618295a320.7394.38a
20160.9718804.9a323.0724.32a
20171.8419612.1a325.1224.19a
20182.3620656.5a326.8384.16a
20191.6921540a328.3304.36a
20201.3221375.3a331.5784.73a
20214.8423725.6a332.1004.36a
20224.5924256.1b333.9964.60b

Legend:
a - actual reported
i - interpolated between actual reported values
b - budgeted estimate in US FY23 budget

Data Sources for 1792:
GDP: Samuel H. Williamson, "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?" MeasuringWorth, 2015.
Federal: Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the US, Colonial Times to 1970
State and Local: not available

Data Sources for 2022:
GDP, GO: GDP, GO Sources
Federal: Fed. Budget: Hist. Tables 3.2, 5.1, 7.1
State and Local: State and Local Gov. Finances
'Guesstimated' by projecting the latest change in reported spending forward to future years

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Spending Data Sources

Spending data is from official government sources.

Gross Domestic Product data comes from US Bureau of Economic Analysis and measuringworth.com.

Detailed table of spending data sources here.
Medicare breakdown here; Medicaid breakdown here.

Federal spending data begins in 1792.

State and local spending data begins in 1820.

State and local spending data for individual states begins in 1957.

Gross Federal Debt

Debt Now:  $38,380,536,147,996.03
Debt 2/2020:$23,409,959,150,243.63

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Data Sources for 1792_2022:

Sources for 1792:

GDP: Samuel H. Williamson, "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?" MeasuringWorth, 2015.
Federal: Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the US, Colonial Times to 1970
State and Local: not available

Sources for 2022:

GDP, GO: GDP, GO Sources
Federal: Fed. Budget: Hist. Tables 3.2, 5.1, 7.1
State and Local: State and Local Gov. Finances
'Guesstimated' by projecting the latest change in reported spending forward to future years

> data sources for other years
> data update schedule.

Blog

Federal Budget for FY27 Released

On April 4, 2026, we updated usgovernmentspending.com with the numbers from the Public Budget Database in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2027

Here is how headline budget estimates for the upcoming FY 2027 fiscal year have changed since the release of the FY 2025 budget in Winter 2024. There were no budgetary estimates in the budget documents for the FY 2026 budget.

Federal Budget Changes for 2027
$ billionEstimate for 2027
in FY2025 Budget
Estimate for 2027
in FY2027 Budget
Change
Federal Outlays$7,696.6$8,092.9 +$569.1
Federal Receipts$6,186.2$5,921.0+$279.1
Federal Deficit$1,510.3$2,171.9+$290.0

You can see line item changes from budget to budget here. You can compare budget estimates with actuals here.

Account level spending estimates through FY 2031 come from the Outlays table in the Public Budget Database and were updated on usgovernmentspending.com on April 4, 2026.

Account level budget authority estimates through FY 2031 come from the Budget Authority table in the Public Budget Database and were updated on usgovernmentspending.com on April 4, 2026. 

US GDP for 2025 Released
On March 15, 2026 usgovernmentspending.com updated its GDP series with the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis ...

US, State Population Update for 2025
On January 21, 2026 the US Census Bureau released its US national and state population estimates for July 1, 2025.  On February 7, 2026 usgovernmentspending.com updated its US and state popula ...

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