# National debt under Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989

Source page: https://govargus.com/presidents/reagan/national-debt

Under Ronald Reagan, the national debt went from $0.93 trillion in Q4 1980 to $2.68 trillion in Q4 1988, up $1.75 trillion (+188.6%). That is +$0.22 trillion/yr, against +$0.07 trillion/yr in the four years before. Ranked by yearly change, it is 6th of the 8 completed terms since 1977, counting from the fastest rise.

National debt (dollars): Total public debt outstanding, including debt held by federal trust funds, in dollars of the day (not adjusted for inflation or the size of the economy; see federal debt as a share of GDP for that). The change over a term is the debt added. Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, via FRED GFDEBTN (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN), fetched Oct 19, 2026.

## Year by year

Highest reading during the term: $2.68 trillion in Q4 1988. Lowest: $0.93 trillion in Q4 1980.

| Period | Value | Change |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Q4 1980, before inauguration | $0.93 trillion |  |
| Q4 1981 | $1.03 trillion | +$0.10 trillion |
| Q4 1982 | $1.20 trillion | +$0.17 trillion |
| Q4 1983 | $1.41 trillion | +$0.21 trillion |
| Q4 1984 | $1.66 trillion | +$0.25 trillion |
| Q4 1985 | $1.95 trillion | +$0.28 trillion |
| Q4 1986 | $2.21 trillion | +$0.27 trillion |
| Q4 1987 | $2.43 trillion | +$0.22 trillion |
| Q4 1988 | $2.68 trillion | +$0.25 trillion |

## Every term

Sorted by yearly change, fastest rise first. A term's first year mostly reflects the previous administration's policies, and Congress, the Federal Reserve and the world economy move these numbers too. Govargus describes; it does not score presidents.

| President | Term | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Donald Trump (2nd term) | 2025–present | $36.22 trillion → $39.46 trillion (+$2.17 trillion/yr, through Q2 2026) | +$2.12 trillion/yr |
| Joe Biden | 2021–2025 | $27.75 trillion → $36.22 trillion (+$2.12 trillion/yr) | +$1.94 trillion/yr |
| Donald Trump (1st term) | 2017–2021 | $19.98 trillion → $27.75 trillion (+$1.94 trillion/yr) | +$0.89 trillion/yr |
| Barack Obama | 2009–2017 | $10.70 trillion → $19.98 trillion (+$1.16 trillion/yr) | +$0.78 trillion/yr |
| George W. Bush | 2001–2009 | $5.66 trillion → $10.70 trillion (+$0.63 trillion/yr) | +$0.08 trillion/yr |
| George H. W. Bush | 1989–1993 | $2.68 trillion → $4.18 trillion (+$0.37 trillion/yr) | +$0.26 trillion/yr |
| Ronald Reagan | 1981–1989 | $0.93 trillion → $2.68 trillion (+$0.22 trillion/yr) | +$0.07 trillion/yr |
| Bill Clinton | 1993–2001 | $4.18 trillion → $5.66 trillion (+$0.19 trillion/yr) | +$0.37 trillion/yr |
| Jimmy Carter | 1977–1981 | $0.65 trillion → $0.93 trillion (+$0.07 trillion/yr) | +$0.05 trillion/yr |

## Events during the term

- Aug 13, 1981, law: Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Cuts the top income tax rate from 70% to 50% and phases in broad rate cuts and indexing.