Billions of Bills

In the 2023 fiscal year, over 5.7 billion cash notes were printed, in total worth over $163 billion.

While coins are produced at U.S. Mint locations across the country, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) has overseen the production of paper currency since 1862. The bills are made from a blend of cotton and linen, and they are printed at facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Washington, D.C. From the BEP, the newly printed notes are sent to the Federal Reserve, which will distribute them to banks.

Freshly printed currency most often replaces bills taken out of circulation. The Federal Reserve estimates that the lifespan of a dollar bill is 6.6 years. Five- and ten-dollar bills have the shortest lifespan at 4.7 and 5.3 years respectively. By contrast, one-hundred-dollar bills typically last 22.9 years.

For the 2025 fiscal year, the Federal Reserve Board has placed a currency order range lower than 2024. Between 4.1 and 5.9 billion notes are expected to be printed, worth between $83.1 and $113 billion.