US Published National Debt
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The Truth
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Each Taxpayer's Share: $1,261,000
Financial State of the States 2026
Our seventeenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
Financial State of the Union 2026
Truth in Accounting’s analysis of the most recent audited Financial Report of the U.S. Government found its overall financial condition worsened by $11.6 trillion in 2025.
Financial State of the Cities 2026
The report examines the fiscal health of America’s five largest cities–Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York City.
Data-Z (database for state and city data)
Create your own chart with more than 700 data variables at the federal, state, and city levels.
Debt per taxpayer
November 12, 2026
Aloha State Daily
Each year, some smart people in the nonprofit Truth in Accounting pore over the financial statements of the several states and compare them. We last reported on their findings five years ago when they gave us some utterly depressing news: when you added up what we have, including cash and other assets available to pay bills, and subtract what we are obligated to pay, including not only bond debt but also commitments to pay state retirees pensions (our Employees’ Retirement System, or ERS) and provide them health care for life (the Hawaiʻi Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund, or EUTF), the result, when divided by our taxpayer population, was a staggering $37,000 per taxpayer. (Debt attached to capital assets like land and buildings is not counted because the capital assets are not counted.)
Can You Win the Presidency After Lying About Your Military Service?
November 10, 2026
The American Spectator
Just when more calls from within the Democratic Party were ringing out for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to run for president following his successful election to a second term in office, more questions have arisen over whether he exaggerated his military service in Afghanistan
Consequences are needed
October 26, 2026
The Journal
Most households would be thrilled to learn their financial state had been given a B grade four years in a row. Of course, it would be nice to be able to aim for an A, but knowing our financial status hasn’t deteriorated would be a great comfort.
State officials, too, are likely content with learning Truth in Accounting has granted West Virginia a B for financial health again this year — and the grade IS good news. Across two gubernatorial administrations, those in Charleston have been able to do a better-than-average job as stewards of taxpayer dollars.
When Accounting Rules Differ, Elections Alone Can’t Deliver Accountability
November 4, 2026
Officials across the political spectrum have used the flexibility in government accounting to claim fiscal responsibility while passing costs on to future taxpayers.
Same States, Same Cities, Same Story: Reason’s Study and the Taxpayer Burden
September 25, 2026
New independent analysis from the Reason Foundation reinforces a message Truth in Accounting has documented for years: many of America’s state and local governments look solvent on paper while their audited balance sheets tell a different story.
Baltimore’s Housing Trust Can Count the Cash, It Still Can’t Count the Homes
September 25, 2026
In November 2016, Baltimore voters did something unusual: they wrote an affordable-housing lockbox into the City Charter. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund [AHTF] was supposed to take a dedicated stream of tax money and turn it into housing for the city’s lowest-income households.
The Charter even said how the public would know whether the city was keeping that bargain. Article I, Section 14 of the Charter gave the Commission two separate jobs, not one. It must “submit an annual report to the Mayor and City Council on the activities and usage of the funds, including tenure (rental and homeownership), income level served, and unit size (number of bedrooms), and make the report available to the public.” Separately, it must “ensure an audit of the fund every four years by a certified public accounting firm.” The four-year audit does not pause the annual report. The Commission must account for the money every year and have an independent CPA review the fund every four years. Both obligations run at the same time.
Letter to Maryland's Comptroller Brooke Lierman
September 18, 2026
Thank you for your service to Maryland. I’m a CPA who started the nonpartisan organization Truth in Accounting (TIA) over 20 years ago with the sole mission to reveal governments’ true financial condition. TIA has analyzed Maryland’s audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports since 2009 and was recently engaged by local media outlets to review the state's audited financial statements. And because the Office of the Comptroller is a signatory to the accuracy and completeness of the data presented in those reports, we have questions we believe Maryland taxpayers deserve answered. Please respond by Tuesday, August 25 at noon.
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