US spending has fluctuated as the government managed the budgetary implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, spending rose 45% (after adjusting for inflation) — the largest single-year increase since at least 1980. It dropped 21% from 2021 to 2023, but 2023 spending was still higher than before the pandemic.
How much does the government spend each year?
In 2023, the federal government spent $6.16 trillion and generated $4.47 trillion in revenue. Spending has exceeded $5 billion in every year since 2018, and revenues have exceeded $4 billion in each year since 2015. In other words, the government has spent more than it’s brought in for years.
Increases in federal spending have outpaced inflation for decades. From 1980 to 2019, after adjusting for inflation, federal spending grew by an average of 2.3% annually.
As spending increased, so did revenues, albeit at a slower pace — in that same time, federal revenue rose by an average of 2.1% annually.
Does the federal government run a deficit every year?
The federal government has spent more than it’s collected in each year since 2001. It had a surplus from 1998 to 2001 but has run a deficit in all other years since 1980.
How did the federal budget change in 2020?
Congress responded to the pandemic with a number of stimulus bills. Spending accordingly rose from $5.31 trillion in 2019 to $7.71 trillion in 2020. This 45% increase was nearly 20 times the average of the previous four decades.
Spending remained elevated at $7.77 trillion in 2021 before decreasing to $6.73 trillion in 2022 and $6.16 trillion in 2023.
Before 2020, the largest percentage increase in spending since 1980 had come in 2009 when Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in response to the Great Recession. Spending rose by 18.2% that year.
How have the federal deficits changed in recent years?
With a record increase in spending and a slight decrease in revenue, the federal deficit was $3.67 trillion in 2020, more than three times the 2019 deficit of $1.17 trillion. Annual deficits have since returned to below $2 trillion but remained higher than prior to the pandemic in 2022 ($1.45 trillion) and 2023 ($1.70 trillion).
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