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.

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…

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 ***** U.S. dollars. People in the silent generation had a credit card balance of roughly ***** U.S. dollars.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Loans: Credit Cards and Other Revolving Plans, All Commercial Banks (CCLACBW027SBOG) from 2000-06-28 to 2025-09-17 about revolving, credit cards, loans, consumer, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

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

This statistic presents the average credit card debt of Americans in 2017, by income. In that year, the credit card debt of Americans who earned more than *** thousand U.S. dollars amounted to ****** U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Large Bank Consumer Credit Card Balances: Total Balances (RCCCBBALTOT) from Q3 2012 to Q1 2025 about FR Y-14M, credit cards, consumer credit, large, balance, loans, consumer, banks, depository institutions, 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.

Consumer Credit in the United States increased to 16.01 USD Billion in July from 9.61 USD Billion in June of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Consumer Credit Change - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Consumers in the United States had over **** trillion dollars in debt as of the first quarter of 2025. The majority of that debt were home mortgages, amounting to approximately **** 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.

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Alaska and Hawaii were the states in the U.S. with the highest credit card debt. While the average credit card debt in Alaska amounted to ***** U.S. dollars, people from Mississippi only had on average ***** U.S. dollars of credit card debt.

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.

Households Debt in the United States decreased to 68.30 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 from 69.40 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - United States Households Debt To Gdp- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Large Bank Consumer Credit Card Balances: 90 or More Days Past Due Rates: Accounts Based (RCCCBACTDPD90P) from Q3 2012 to Q1 2025 about 90 days +, accounts, FR Y-14M, credit cards, consumer credit, large, balance, loans, consumer, banks, depository institutions, rate, and USA.

View quarterly updates and historical trends for US Credit Card Accounts Delinquent by 90 or More Days. from United States. Source: Federal Reserve Bank o…

United States Household Debt: Credit Card data was reported at 815.000 USD bn in Mar 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 834.000 USD bn for Dec 2017. United States Household Debt: Credit Card data is updated quarterly, averaging 703.000 USD bn from Mar 1999 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 77 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 866.000 USD bn in Dec 2008 and a record low of 480.000 USD bn in Jun 1999. United States Household Debt: 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 USA – Table US.KA012: 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.