A bill’s life expectancy is no longer than 15 years
After being used on a regular basis, bills wear out and are taken out of circulation. The $1 bill gets the most use and typically only lasts about 5.8 years. However, it’s not the shortest life expectancy for a bill — that title belongs to the $10 bill, which surprising only lasts about 4.5 years.
The $5 bill also has a shorter lifespan than the $1 bill, coming in at 5.5 years, whereas the $20 and $50 bills start to trend upward at 7.9 years and 8.5 years, respectively. The longest lifespan belongs to the $100 bill, which lasts an average of 15 years.
