How to cite 500metrics

Text on this page was drafted with AI tools; every figure is computed by code from the cited official source.

Every number on 500metrics can be quoted with its date, its official source and a link that keeps working. This page says which address to use and how to word the credit.

The short version

Name the official source first and 500metrics second, give the date the number refers to, and link the page you took it from. For example:

"The room left under the US debt limit was $1.12 trillion on 30 September 2026, according to the Daily Treasury Statement (U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service), as calculated by 500metrics."
"The 7-year note auction of 24 September 2026 drew a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.42 (U.S. Treasury auction results, via 500metrics)."

Each data page has a "Cite this page" box with the citation already written out, ready to copy.

Which address to use

Some pages always show the newest figure, and some never change once published. When you quote a figure that will move, link the page that keeps it fixed:

You are quoting	Link this kind of page	Why
One auction result	The page of that auction, for example the 7-year note auction of 24 September 2026	It never changes, except for a dated correction
Debt coming due as of a month-end	The month-end snapshot, for example the maturity snapshot of 31 August 2026	It keeps the figures of that month-end
The debt limit in a past year	The year page, for example the debt limit in 2025	The year is closed
Today's figure	The live page, with the date the page shows	The live page moves on with the data

Page addresses on 500metrics are permanent. If a page ever moves, its old address sends readers to the new one.

Crediting the official source

The numbers are calculated from official US government data. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service asks to be credited as "Source: U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Fiscal Data". Each page names its own sources, and Sources lists every source with its terms.

Please do not word a citation so that it reads as if the US Treasury published or endorsed a figure 500metrics calculated, such as the room left under the debt limit. Where a page shows the government's own published figure, it says so.

Reusing our numbers and charts

Our own numbers, tables and text may be reused under the licence at the licence page, with credit to 500metrics and a link. The share image of each page may be reused with the same credit. Data from a source keeps that source's terms.

Corrections

If a figure you cited is later corrected, the page shows the correction with its date, and the log at Corrections lists it. Cite the corrected figure with the date of the correction.

Questions

Write to hello@500metrics.com about how a number was made. The method behind each figure is at Methodology.