TOTAL COST TO
AMERICAN TAXPAYERS

Military costs anchor to CSIS's June 2026 final estimate of ~$40B ($34.2–$41.5B) for Operation Epic Fury — the updated figure that supersedes the earlier $16.5B Day-12 anchor. CSIS notes war costs were front-loaded (munitions dominated the first days) and that, with a ceasefire signed, costs are largely set; we project forward only a small residual (~$8M/day, CSIS's estimate for continued elevated operations plus ongoing DOD/federal fuel accrual) from that anchor.

Gas costs use the EIA weekly U.S. retail gasoline price vs. the $3.51/gal pre-war baseline, applied to ~1,120 gal/household across 130M households (~$108M/day nationally at the current $3.78/gal). Recalculated weekly as EIA publishes new prices.

Indirect costs (mortgage rates, food/supply chain) are cited estimates from NBC News and TIME reporting.

"Instead" figures use NREL 2024 for solar/wind, EnergySage 2025 for residential solar (federal ITC expired Dec 2025), KFF 2025 for health insurance, Peterson-KFF for ER costs, TRIP for potholes, ASCE for bridges, NEA 2024-25 for teacher salaries, and the College Board 2025 for tuition.

// Exact costs are unknowable during active conflict. These are best available public estimates. All figures sourced below.