2025 Government 10-K
The 10-K report includes details about US governments' financial position, risk factors, and key metrics data.
Facts are at the foundation of governance. As the federal government takes in American taxpayer dollars and redistributes them into public programs each year, the multi-trillion-dollar question is: how is that grand project going? In the first months of the second Trump presidency, the word “efficiency” is on everyone’s lips, but the sentiment long predates the current political moment — what kind of bang are the people getting for their hard-earned buck?
According to the 2024 USAFacts/AP-NORC State of the Facts poll, an increasing share of Americans believe that political division is a consequence of relying on different facts rather than different beliefs. In other words, common understanding of the issues we face could be a unifying force. This is where government data comes in: taxpayers pay into the project of American democracy, and access to data on government outcomes is what allows the people to hold their leaders accountable.
This 10-K report is designed to provide as comprehensive an answer as possible to the question of the return on government investment.
Due to the pace of data reporting, only now, in 2025, is it possible to get a complete look at 2022 government finances. That year, as inflation hit a four-decade high and the nation began to envision post-pandemic life, our combined governments brought in $7.6 trillion in revenue and spent $8.9 trillion, leading to a deficit of $1.3 trillion. That’s the broad brush — the real insight is in the details.
Inflation, inflation, inflation
Calendar-year inflation rose to 8.0% in 2022, the highest the economic indicator has reached since 1981. Meanwhile, wages rose by a comparatively low 1%, failing to keep up and ensuring Americans would feel the sting at the grocery store and the gas pump. Average household financial assets fell by 16% after adjusting for inflation, and total cash expenditures dropped 1%. Personal savings rates fell from 18% of disposable income to 11%.
Meanwhile, housing costs outpaced inflation for both homebuyers and renters, as did personal healthcare expenditures. It would take until June 2023 before the monthly inflation rate dipped below 4.0% again — and the impacts of the 2022 spike persist.
Our population continued to grow, age, and change shape
After years of slowing population growth hit a low in 2021, the population grew by 1.2 million people in 2022, more than twice the previous year’s growth. The falling birth rate leveled off, but the real growth driver was net migration at nearly 1 million people. Green card and visa totals had not returned to pre-COVID levels, but naturalizations were up 37% from five years prior.
Baby boomers continued to age towards retirement: the 65+ population grew by 3% year over year and 34% from 2012 to 2022 — drawing into sharper focus the question of how the nation plans to support its aging population.
Social Security ran a deficit of $15.5 billion in 2022. As the 65+ population continues to outgrow the working-age population, the trust funds that support Social Security are projected to be depleted as soon as 2032.
Federal finances showed signs of exposure to risk
Other high-ticket government programs have their own apparent financial issues. The portion of Medicare funds that cover hospital stays may be at risk of running dry by 2030. The Government Accountability Office also estimates that Medicare made up to $54.3 billion in improper payments in FY 2024, along with $31 billion made by Medicaid and $6 billion by the unemployment insurance program.
Meanwhile, barring Congressional intervention, the trust fund supporting our highways and transit systems could be exhausted by 2028.
On the revenue side, the IRS reported that in tax year 2022, $696 billion was not paid on time, the bulk of which came from taxpayers understating their liabilities. IRS enforcement initiatives are already strained — the agency’s backlog to investigate identity theft cases is more than a year and a half long.
The federal government ran a deficit in 2022, adding to a national debt that stood at $35.8 trillion in January 2025.
A ten-year picture
In addition to insights on emerging trends, this report analyzes changes over a decade, offering a glimpse into the longer-term outlook for the nation. While wages did not keep up with inflation in 2022, they grew 5% from 2012 to 2022 after adjusting for inflation, and average financial assets and real estate assets grew by 31% and 65%. GDP grew 51% after adjusting for inflation and population growth. Poverty fell by three percentage points and child poverty by seven. The share of Americans without health insurance dropped by nearly half, from 15% to 8%.
Still, housing, healthcare, and education costs increased faster than inflation from 2012 to 2022. Life expectancy hadn’t recovered from its pandemic drop, down 2% from 2012, due in part to increases in deaths from firearms, heart disease, accidents, and suicides. Adult depression rates are up from 18% to 22%. While veteran unemployment is down, veteran poverty is up, despite nearly one quarter fewer veterans in 2022.
Where does that leave us? That’s up to you. The data inside this report is a reflection of the lived experience of the American people. A single percentage point within can mean millions more people with access to medical care or millions more dollars to support students.
This is the data that policymakers will use to shape future decision-making. In the meantime, have a look for yourself.
