US Milk Consumption per Person vs US Federal Debt Outstanding

US Milk Consumption per Person and US Federal Debt Outstanding correlate at r = -0.65 over 63 years (1961–2023), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.50. Holds up after detrending.

Verdict: Holds up after detrending. Statistically significant (p = < 0.0001) and the association survives trend removal (detrended r = -0.50). Correlation still isn't causation, but this one isn't an obvious artifact.

Pearson r: -0.65
p-value: < 0.0001
Years compared (n): 63 (1961–2023)
95% confidence interval: -0.77 to -0.48
Correlation with the time trend removed: -0.50

Sources

US Milk Consumption per Person (kg/year): Our World in Data. US Milk Consumption per Person (Our World in Data: Per capita consumption of milk, excluding butter).
US Federal Debt Outstanding (USD): U.S. Treasury. Total US federal debt outstanding at the end of each fiscal year (U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data).

Related pairs

US Renewable Energy Share vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
US Wind Power Generation vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US GDP (current US$) (r = +0.97)
US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US GDP per Capita (r = +0.95)
Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.95)
US Natural Gas Consumption vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.94)

Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.