Explore where federal dollars go — from Social Security and Medicare to defense, education, and beyond.
Quick estimate
Quick opinion
The situation
In FY2025, the federal government is projected to spend about $7.0 trillion — roughly 24% of GDP. (That's narrower than the ~37%-of-GDP figure in the international comparison below, which also counts state and local government spending.)
About two-thirds of the federal budget — mostly Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the debt — is spent automatically each year without a new vote. The rest is discretionary spending that Congress sets annually, roughly half of which goes to defense.
- Social Security$1,550B
- Medicare$950B
- Net interest on the debt$950B
- Medicaid$620B
- Veterans benefits$325B
- SNAP (food assistance)$100B
- TANF (cash welfare)$17B
- Other mandatory$640B
- Defense$895B
- Other discretionary$950B
Figures are rounded, illustrative FY2025 estimates and won't sum exactly to the total.
Pros and cons
An aging population is driving up Social Security and Medicare costs, and there's a backlog of investment needed in infrastructure, education, and climate resilience.
Spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs automatically expands during recessions, softening the blow for families and the broader economy.
The US spends less than most other wealthy democracies as a share of GDP, suggesting room to expand public services without becoming a global outlier.
Persistent deficits are adding to a rapidly growing national debt, and rising interest costs increasingly crowd out room for other priorities.
A smaller government can mean less duplication and waste, and lets individuals and markets — rather than politicians — decide how more resources get used.
Spending financed by borrowing today shifts the bill to future taxpayers, who didn't get a vote on it.
Historical context
Federal spending as a share of the economy has swung dramatically over the past 90 years — driven mostly by wars, recessions, and the growth of entitlement programs as the population ages.
Federal outlays as % of GDP, selected years. Approximate historical estimates for illustration.
Spending spiked above 40% of GDP during World War II, then fell sharply as the wartime economy demobilized. It crept upward over the following decades — through the Korean and Vietnam wars and the growth of Social Security and Medicare — before easing to a modern low around 2000, when a strong economy and budget surpluses reduced relative spending. Two more recent shocks — the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic — each triggered a temporary but sharp spike, as emergency stimulus and safety-net spending expanded faster than the economy did.
International context
Considered opinion
NextDefense or WarRed Ink — Deficit & DebtInequalityCapital Gains Tax
Wonkery
Federal spending figures are outlays (money actually paid out) from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO); the long-run history uses the White House Office of Management and Budget's historical tables. International comparisons use the International Monetary Fund's figures for total government spending — national, state and local combined — so they are higher than US federal spending alone. Percent-of-GDP figures use fiscal-year GDP.