Credit card debt in the United States has been growing at a fast pace between 2021 and 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall amount of credit card debt reached its highest value throughout the timeline considered here. COVID-19 had a big impact on the indebtedness of Americans, as credit card debt decreased from *** billion U.S. dollars in the last quarter of 2019 to *** billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2021. What portion of Americans use credit cards? A substantial portion of Americans had at least one credit card in 2025. That year, the penetration rate of credit cards in the United States was ** percent. This number increased by nearly seven percentage points since 2014. The primary factors behind the high utilization of credit cards in the United States are a prevalent culture of convenience, a wide range of reward schemes, and consumer preferences for postponed payments. Which companies dominate the credit card issuing market? In 2024, the leading credit card issuers in the U.S. by volume were JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express. Both firms recorded transactions worth over one trillion U.S. dollars that year. Citi and Capital One were the next banks in that ranking, with the transactions made with their credit cards amounting to over half a trillion U.S. dollars that year. Those industry giants, along with other prominent brand names in the industry such as Bank of America, Synchrony Financial, Wells Fargo, and others, dominate the credit card market. Due to their extensive customer base, appealing rewards, and competitive offerings, they have gained a significant market share, making them the preferred choice for consumers.

Generation X was the group of people with the highest average credit card balance in the United States in the 3rd quarter of 2024. That year, the average credit card debt of generation Z amounted to approximately 3,460 U.S. dollars. People in the silent generation had a credit card balance of roughly 3,430 U.S. dollars.

View quarterly updates and historical trends for US Credit Card Debt. from United States. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Track economic data wi…

Debt Balance Credit Cards in the United States increased to 1.21 Trillion USD in the second quarter of 2025 from 1.18 Trillion USD in the first quarter of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Debt Balance Credit Cards.

Key information about United States Household Debt

• United States Household Debt reached 18,036.0 USD bn in Dec 2024, compared with the reported number of 17,943.0 USD bn in the previous quarter
• US Household Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1999 to Dec 2024
• The data reached an all-time high of 18,036.0 USD bn in Dec 2024 and a record low of 4,540.0 USD bn in Mar 1999

• In the latest reports, United States Household Debt accounted for 61.7 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024
• Money Supply M2 in United States increased 21,533.8 USD bn YoY in Dec 2024
• United States Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 34.9 USD bn in Dec 2024
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 0.1 Months of Import in Dec 2024
• United States Domestic Credit reached 30,648.3 USD bn in Mar 2024, representing an drop of 0.3 % YoY

The average amount of non-mortgage debt held by consumers in the United States has been falling steadily during the past years, amounting to ****** U.S. dollars in 2023. While respondents had ****** U.S. dollars of debt in 2018, that volume decreased to ****** U.S. dollars in 2019, which constituted the largest year-over-year decrease.What age groups are more indebted in the U.S.?The age group with the highest level of consumer debt in the U.S. was belonging to the Generation X with approximately ******* U.S. dollars of debt in 2022. The next generations with high consumer debt levels were baby boomers and millennials, whose debt levels were similar. In comparison, credit card debt is more equally distributed across all ages. There is an exception among people under 35 years old, who are significantly less burdened with credit card debt. However, most consumers expect to get rid of their debt in the short term. College expenses as a source of debtEducational expenses were not among the leading sources of debt among consumers in the U.S. in 2022. Instead, they made up about ** percent of the total. However, around ** percent of undergraduates from lower-income families had student loans, while over a fifth of undergraduates from higher-income families had student loans. Independently of how they cover these expenses, the confidence of students and parents about being able to pay these college costs was high in most cases.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Loans: Credit Cards and Other Revolving Plans, All Commercial Banks (CCLACBW027SBOG) from 2000-06-28 to 2025-10-15 about revolving, credit cards, loans, consumer, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

The average consumer debt balance in the United States has peaked in 2024 at roughly 105,100 U.S. dollars. However, average consumer debt had decreased between 2010 and 2013, when it reached approximately 85,500 U.S. dollars. Here, consumer debt refers to student and car loans, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and other types of debt.

Graph and download economic data for Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks (DRCCLACBS) from Q1 1991 to Q2 2025 about credit cards, delinquencies, commercial, loans, banks, depository institutions, rate, and USA.

United States HH Debt: Credit Card: Available Credit data was reported at 3,038.000 USD bn in Mar 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,970.000 USD bn for Dec 2019. United States HH Debt: Credit Card: Available Credit data is updated quarterly, averaging 2,216.000 USD bn from Mar 1999 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 85 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,038.000 USD bn in Mar 2020 and a record low of 895.000 USD bn in Jun 1999. United States HH Debt: Credit Card: Available Credit data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.KB027: Household Debt.

Consumers in the United States had over 18.2 trillion dollars in debt as of the first quarter of 2025. The majority of that debt were home mortgages, amounting to approximately 12.8 trillion U.S. dollars. Student and car loans were the second and third largest component of household debt. Why is consumer debt important? Debt influences the Consumer Sentiment Index, which is an important indicator assessing the state of the U.S. economy. The U.S. housing market is also seen a bellwether of the economic conditions in the country. The housing industry employs a large number of people, and mortgages are large investments that consumers will pay off over the course of years, sometimes decades. Because of this, financial analysts closely watch consumer debt and its effects on the demand for housing. Attitudes towards debt Consumer perception of debt differed, depending on the kind of debt in question. While most saw a home mortgage as a positive investment, they increasingly looked at student loan debt as a negative debt. With education costs increasing, people are incurring more student loan debt in the United States. Credit card debt also had negative connotations.

United States HH Debt: Balance: New Delinquent Loan: Credit Card data was reported at 6.840 % in Mar 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.950 % for Dec 2019. United States HH Debt: Balance: New Delinquent Loan: Credit Card data is updated quarterly, averaging 8.081 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 69 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.780 % in Dec 2009 and a record low of 5.073 % in Jun 2016. United States HH Debt: Balance: New Delinquent Loan: Credit Card data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.KB027: Household Debt.

Graph and download economic data for Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income (TDSP) from Q1 1980 to Q2 2025 about disposable, payments, personal income, debt, percent, households, personal, income, services, and USA.

As of the first quarter of 2025, the levels of debt from consumer lending in the United States amounted to nearly five trillion U.S. dollars. The consumer credit debt of households and nonprofit organizations increased steadily in the last decade. Throughout that period, the outstanding consumer credit in the U.S. has also been growing.

United States HH Debt: Balance: New Seriously Delinquent Loan: Credit Card data was reported at 5.310 % in Mar 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.320 % for Dec 2019. United States HH Debt: Balance: New Seriously Delinquent Loan: Credit Card data is updated quarterly, averaging 5.594 % from Mar 2003 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 69 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.957 % in Dec 2009 and a record low of 3.509 % in Sep 2016. United States HH Debt: Balance: New Seriously Delinquent Loan: Credit Card data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.KB027: Household Debt.

The average credit score of Americans - as measured by the FICO score - increased for the first time in about two years in early 2023. The average score in April 2024 stood at 715. The score as displayed ranges from 300 to 850 and is based on three different consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) in the United States, namely Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. The source adds that the score was especially impacted by slowing inflation, lower unemployment figures and changes to certain consumer credit data.

Between 2020 and 2023, the share of adults planning to carry a credit card balance in the next six months in the United States increased significantly. While 19 percent of respondents were going to carry a credit card balance in 2020, that percentage increased to approximately 35 percent in 2023. That means that over a third of credit card holders are expected not to be able to pay some credit card bills on time.

Graph and download economic data for Commercial Bank Interest Rate on Credit Card Plans, All Accounts (TERMCBCCALLNS) from Nov 1994 to Aug 2025 about credit cards, consumer credit, loans, consumer, interest rate, banks, interest, depository institutions, rate, and USA.

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is normally a triennial cross-sectional survey of U.S. families. The survey data include information on families' balance sheets, pensions, income, and demographic characteristics.

Credit card delinquency reached its highest level since 2019 in the first quarter of 2024, whereas mortgage delinquency declined to its lowest level. This is according to consumer data supplied by large banks that have to report such figures when handling over 100 billion U.S. dollars worth of assets. 3.56 percent of credit card balances were 30 days late - the highest percentage since tracking began in 2012. First-lien mortgage origination remained historically low, likely due to high interest rates and housing prices. Note the graphic shown here is different from another source on credit card delinquency rates in the U.S., as those figures are aggregates.