Historical data · sourced snapshots
US M2 Money Supply History by Decade
M2 is the Federal Reserve’s broad measure of money: physical cash, checking deposits, savings deposits, and retail money market funds. The Fed reports it monthly in the H.6 release, and FRED carries the series as M2SL. When M2 grows faster than the economy, more dollars chase the same goods, which is one channel through which inflation appears.
Historical chart
1971 to 2026
M2 money stock from FRED, the Federal Reserve H.6 release series that counts cash, checking, savings, and retail money-market balances.
| Period | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | $0.70T | FRED M2SL after convertibility ends |
| 1980 | $1.60T | High-inflation decade |
| 1990 | $3.20T | Credit system grows |
| 2000 | $4.90T | Dot-com cycle baseline |
| 2010 | $8.80T | QE era begins |
| 2020 | $19.1T | Liquidity surge |
| 2026 | $23.3T | FRED M2SL, 2026-08 |
What the numbers mean
Reading the money supply history
M2 grew steadily for decades, then jumped by roughly 40% between early 2020 and early 2022, the fastest expansion on record, before contracting slightly in 2023. The decade snapshots below show the long trend; the latest point is the most recent monthly observation.
Related pages
Dollar purchasing power · What is inflation? · Market returns after inflation
Sourced snapshots are rounded; the latest point is refreshed by a scheduled data update and carries its observation date. Methodology · Report a correction.
Questions
Money supply history FAQ
What is the difference between M1 and M2?
M1 counts the most liquid money: cash and checking-type deposits. M2 adds savings deposits and retail money market funds. Since a 2020 definition change, M1 and M2 are much closer than they used to be.
Does more money supply always mean more inflation?
Not automatically. The link depends on how fast money changes hands and how much the economy can produce. The 2020 to 2022 surge was followed by the highest inflation in four decades, but the 2010s saw rising M2 with low inflation.
Where does the latest number come from?
The most recent M2SL observation on FRED, shown with its month. The homepage clock projects it forward at the recent annual pace until the next data refresh.