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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Federal Reserve Board of New York provides quarterly Household Debt in USD. Household Debt includes Mortgages, Home Equity Revolving, Auto Loans, Bankcards, Student Loans and Others.


Further information about United States Household Debt

• 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

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.

Graph and download economic data for Large Bank Consumer Credit Card Balances: Total Balances (RCCCBBALTOT) from Q3 2012 to Q2 2025 about FR Y-14M, credit cards, consumer credit, large, balance, loans, consumer, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

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.

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.

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.

Consumer Credit in Canada increased to 798319 CAD Million in August from 794832 CAD Million in July of 2025. This dataset provides - Canada Consumer Credit - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Monthly credit aggregates for the household sector, by category.

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.

This report analyses the ratio of credit card debt to discretionary income. Credit card debt covers all personal advances on credit and charge cards, both interest-bearing and non-interest bearing, that are outstanding. Discretionary income is the amount of income remaining after deducting necessary household expenses and can be used to repay debt. The data for this report is sourced from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Te Putea Matua) and Statistics New Zealand (Tatauranga Aotearoa). The data is presented as credit card debt as a percentage of discretionary income for each financial year.

Key information about United Arab Emirates Household Debt

• United Arab Emirates Household Debt reached 457.5 USD bn in Apr 2023, compared with the reported number of 455.8 USD bn in the previous month
• United Arab Emirates Household Debt: USD mn data is updated monthly, available from Dec 2013 to Apr 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 457.5 USD bn in Apr 2023 and a record low of 327.7 USD bn in Dec 2013

CEIC converts monthly Household Debt into USD. The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates provides Household Debt in local currency. The International Monetary Fund period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Loans are used due to the lack of Flow of Funds statistics. Household Debt covers Residents only.


Further information about United Arab Emirates Household Debt

• In the latest reports, United Arab Emirates Household Debt accounted for 106.2 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2021
• Money Supply M2 in United Arab Emirates increased 496.6 USD bn YoY in Apr 2023
• United Arab Emirates Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 141.6 USD bn in Mar 2023
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 3.8 Months of Import in Sep 2022
• United Arab Emirates Domestic Credit reached 401.4 USD bn in Mar 2023, representing an drop of 5.0 % YoY

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.

Key information about European Union Household Debt

• European Union Household Debt reached 6,956.2 USD bn in Jan 2025, compared with the reported number of 6,921.4 USD bn in the previous month
• EU Household Debt: USD mn data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1999 to Jan 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 7,744.8 USD bn in Apr 2011 and a record low of 2,500.5 USD bn in Oct 2000

CEIC converts monthly Household Debt into USD. European Central Bank provides Household Debt in EUR. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Loans are used due to the lack of Flow of Funds statistics. Household Debt includes Mortgages and Consumer Loans.


Further information about European Union Household Debt

• In the latest reports, European Union Household Debt accounted for 44.1 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024
• Money Supply M2 in European Union increased 16,206.2 USD bn YoY in Jan 2025
• European Union Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 297.5 USD bn in Jan 2025
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 1.4 Months of Import in Dec 2024
• European Union Domestic Credit reached 25,343.8 USD bn in Nov 2024, representing an increased of 0.7 % YoY

South Korea: Credit card debt balance per capita, U.S. dollars: The latest value from is U.S. dollars, unavailable from U.S. dollars in . In comparison, the world average is 0 U.S. dollars, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for South Korea from to is U.S. dollars. The minimum value, U.S. dollars, was reached in while the maximum of U.S. dollars was recorded in .