Fourth of July Countdown
Independence Day is on Sunday, July 4, 2027, which is 312 calendar days away. The live countdown above ticks down to the exact moment, to the second.
Independence Day commemorates July 4, 1776, when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Fireworks, parades and cookouts have marked the date ever since, this countdown is to July 4th, 2027, ticking down live.
How many days until Independence Day?
Independence Day is on Sunday, July 4, 2027, which is 312 calendar days away. The live countdown above ticks down to the exact moment, to the second.
More holidays in United States · See where this falls among everything else — the event calendar.
The story of July 4th
1777Philadelphia marks the first anniversary of independence with a 13-gun salute from ships on the Delaware, a Congressional dinner, bell-ringing, and a fireworks display over the Commons — even though Congress itself nearly let the day pass unmarked.
1870Congress makes July 4th a national holiday, but only for federal workers in Washington, D.C., and unpaid.
1938Nearly seven decades later, Congress finally makes July 4th a paid holiday for all federal employees, grouping it with Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, and other now-familiar federal holidays.
1976The Bicentennial brings Operation Sail's 200-plus tall ships up New York Harbor before roughly six million spectators, the same year Macy's launches the fireworks show that grows into the nation's largest annual Independence Day display.
2000-2022As states loosen fireworks laws, the US consumer fireworks industry balloons from about $407 million in annual revenue to roughly $2.3 billion, turning backyard pyrotechnics into a multibillion-dollar seasonal business.
2026The nation marks its Semiquincentennial — 250 years since the Declaration — with a Washington, D.C. fireworks show of 850,000 shells launched from 10 sites over 40 minutes, breaking the world record for the largest fireworks display in history.
July 4th, by the record book
Largest fireworks display ever850,000 shells over 40 minutes — Washington, D.C.'s Semiquincentennial show, July 4, 2026, breaking the previous record of 810,904 set by Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Philippines in 2016
Largest annual July 4th fireworks showMacy's 4th of July Fireworks — about 85,000 shells launched over New York's rivers each year, a tradition running since its Bicentennial debut in 1976
Most firework stars launched in one minute2,802,195 roman-candle stars, fired by a team in Mandan, North Dakota on December 31, 2025
Longest July 4th paradeAlameda, California's Independence Day parade — 3.3 miles long with roughly 170 entries and 2,500 participants, billed as the longest in the nation
Largest American flag ever madeThe Superflag — 505 feet by 225 feet and about 3,000 pounds, once unfurled across Hoover Dam
The day America declared itself
Independence was actually voted on July 2; the Declaration's final text was adopted July 4, which became the date on the document and in the national memory. John Adams predicted celebrations with 'pomp and parade… bonfires and illuminations', he just expected them two days earlier.
A strange coincidence
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the Declaration's author and its fiercest advocate, both died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after its adoption. James Monroe died on July 4 five years later.
Quick facts
- The Declaration was adopted July 4, 1776
- Most signers actually signed on August 2, 1776
- Jefferson and Adams both died on July 4, 1826
- Americans set off some 280 million pounds of fireworks each year
A U.S. federal holiday
Independence Day is one of the 11 official U.S. federal holidays. The event calendar lists them all, month by month, alongside everything else the site counts down to.
Independence Day — frequently asked questions
When is Independence Day?
Independence Day is on Sunday, July 4, 2027.
How many days until Independence Day?
312 calendar days, counting from today: Independence Day falls on Sunday, July 4, 2027. The clock at the top of the page counts down to the exact second.
Updated August 2026 · Time and Space Science
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