In 2023, the gross federal debt in the United States amounted to around 93,500 U.S. dollars per capita. This is a moderate increase from the previous year, when the per capita national debt amounted to about 92,528 U.S. dollars. The total debt accrued by the U.S. annually can be accessed here. Federal debt of the United States The level of national debt held by the United States government has risen sharply in the years following the Great Recession. Federal debt is the amount of debt the federal government owes to creditors who hold assets in the form of debt securities. As with individuals and consumers, there is a common consensus among economists that holding debt is not necessarily problematic for government so long as the public debt is held at a sustainable level. Although there is no agreed upon ratio of debt to gross domestic product, the increasing debt held by the Federal Reserve has become a major part of the political discourse in the United States. Politics and the national debt In recent years, debate over the debt ceiling has been of concern to domestic politicians, the owners of federal debt, and global economy as a whole. The debt ceiling is a legislated maximum amount that national debt can reach intended to impose a degree of fiscal prudence on incumbent governments. However, as national debt has grown the debt ceiling has been reached, thus forcing legislative action by Congress. In both 2011 and 2013, new legislation was passed by Congress allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. The Budget Control Act of 2011 and the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 successively allowed the government to avoid defaulting on national debt and therefore avert a potential economic crisis.

Graph and download economic data for Number of Large Domestic Banks That Tightened and Reported That Increase in Defaults by Borrowers in Public Debt Markets Was a Somewhat Important Reason (SUBLPDCIRTDSLGNQ) from Q3 2000 to Q1 2011 about borrowings, public, large, debt, domestic, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

Credit card debt in the United States has been growing at a fast pace between 2021 and 2024. In the third 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 927 billion U.S. dollars in the last quarter of 2019 to 770 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 2024. That year, the penetration rate of credit cards in the United States was 67 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 2023, 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.

In 2023, 968 billion U.S. dollars worth of student loans were in forebearance in the United States. This is due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, where the government paused repayment of student loans and froze the accumulation of interest. This is compared to 112 billion U.S. dollars worth of student loans that were in default. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. was valued at approximately 1.76 trillion U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Number of Large Domestic Banks That Eased and Reported That Reduction in Defaults by Borrowers in Public Debt Markets Was Not an Important Reason (SUBLPDCIREDNLGNQ) from Q3 2000 to Q1 2011 about ease, borrowings, public, large, debt, domestic, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Large Banks: Not Important data was reported at 100.000 % in Apr 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 100.000 % for Jan 2018. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Large Banks: Not Important data is updated quarterly, averaging 92.000 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Apr 2018, with 40 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in Apr 2018 and a record low of 50.000 % in Apr 2011. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Large Banks: Not Important data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.KA041: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies: Reason for Credit Tightening. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: If your bank has tightened its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months, how important have been the increase in borrowers default in debt market for the change?

Loan Officer Survey: DB Large Banks: Very Important data was reported at 0.000 % in Apr 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for Jan 2018. Loan Officer Survey: DB Large Banks: Very Important data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Apr 2018, with 40 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.000 % in Oct 2010 and a record low of 0.000 % in Apr 2018. Loan Officer Survey: DB Large Banks: Very Important data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.KA041: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies: Reason for Credit Tightening. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: If your bank has tightened its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months, how important have been the increase in borrowers default in debt market for the change?

This statistic shows the national debt of Greece from 2019 to 2023, with projections until 2029. In 2023, the national debt in Greece was around 382.04 billion U.S. dollars. In a ranking of debt to GDP per country, Greece is currently ranked third. Greece's struggle after the financial crisis Greece is a developed country in the EU and is highly dependent on its service sector as well as its tourism sector in order to gain profits. After going through a large economic boom from the 1950s to the 1970s as well as somewhat high GDP growth in the early to mid 2000s, Greece’s economy took a turn for the worse and struggled intensively, primarily due to the Great Recession, the Euro crisis as well as its own debt crisis. National debt within the country saw significant gains over the past decades, however roughly came to a halt due to financial rescue packages issued from the European Union in order to help Greece maintain and improve their economical situation. The nation’s continuous rise in debt has overwhelmed its estimated GDP over the years, which can be attributed to poor government execution and unnecessary spending. Large sums of financial aid were taken from major European banks to help balance out these government-induced failures and to potentially help refuel the economy to encourage more spending, which in turn would decrease the country’s continuously rising unemployment rate. Investors, consumers and workers alike are struggling to see a bright future in Greece, whose chances of an economic comeback are much lower than that of other struggling countries such as Portugal and Italy. However, Greece's financial situation might improve in the future, as it is estimated that at least its national debt will decrease - slowly, but steadily. Still, since its future participation in the European Union is in limbo as of now, these figures can only be estimates, not predictions.

In the fiscal year of 2019, around 4.1 percent of students who went to private, for-profit public 2-year institutions in the United States were in default on their loans. The default rate for students in the FY 2019 cohort was 1.9 percent at 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions, and 3.8 percent at 2-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions.

United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Other Banks: Somewhat Important data was reported at 40.000 % in Apr 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.000 % for Jan 2018. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Other Banks: Somewhat Important data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Apr 2018, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 66.700 % in Apr 2011 and a record low of 0.000 % in Jul 2017. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Other Banks: Somewhat Important data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.KA041: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies: Reason for Credit Tightening. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: If your bank has tightened its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months, how important have been the increase in borrowers default in debt market for the change?

In 2022, the student loan default rate in the United States was highest for Black borrowers, at 34.4 percent. In comparison, Asian borrowers were least likely to default on their student loans.

The evolution of debt-income ratios over time depends on income growth, inflation, and interest rates, independent of any changes in borrowing. We examine the effect of these "Fisher dynamics" on household debt-income ratios in the United States over the period 1929–2011. Adapting a standard decomposition of public debt to household sector debt, we show that these factors explain, in accounting terms, a large fraction of the changes in household debt-income ratios observed historically. More recently, debt defaults have also been important. Changes in household debt-income ratios over time cannot be straightforwardly interpreted as reflecting shifts in the supply and demand of household credit.

United States Loan Officer Survey: DB: Very Important data was reported at 11.100 % in Apr 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.000 % for Jan 2018. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB: Very Important data is updated quarterly, averaging 2.950 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Apr 2018, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25.000 % in Oct 2013 and a record low of 0.000 % in Jan 2018. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB: Very Important data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.KA041: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies: Reason for Credit Tightening. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: If your bank has tightened its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months, how important have been the increase in borrowers default in debt market for the change?

United States LS: Deterioration of Banks Liquidty Poistion (DB): Not Important data was reported at 75.000 % in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 80.000 % for Jul 2018. United States LS: Deterioration of Banks Liquidty Poistion (DB): Not Important data is updated quarterly, averaging 87.500 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 44 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in Jul 2015 and a record low of 20.000 % in Apr 2011. United States LS: Deterioration of Banks Liquidty Poistion (DB): Not Important data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S027: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies: Reason for Credit Tightening. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: If your bank has tightened its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months, how important have been the increase in borrowers default in debt market for the change?

United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Other Banks: Not Important data was reported at 40.000 % in Apr 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 80.000 % for Jan 2018. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Other Banks: Not Important data is updated quarterly, averaging 86.100 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Apr 2018, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in Apr 2016 and a record low of 0.000 % in Apr 2011. United States Loan Officer Survey: DB Other Banks: Not Important data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.KA041: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies: Reason for Credit Tightening. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: If your bank has tightened its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months, how important have been the increase in borrowers default in debt market for the change?

In the academic year of 2022/2023, 27.2 billion U.S. dollars was offered to students in the form of Federal Pell Grants. Altogether, 177 billion U.S. dollars worth of student aid were provided across the country.

Delinquency rates for credit cards picked up in 2024 in the United States, leading to the highest rates observed since 2008. This is according to a collection of one of the United States' federal banks across all commercial banks. The high delinquency rates were joined by the highest U.S. credit card charge-off rates since the Financial Crisis of 2008. Delinquency rates, or the share of credit card loans overdue a payment for more than 60 days, can sometimes lead into charge-off, or a writing off of the loan, after about six to 12 months. These figures on the share of credit card balances that are overdue developed significantly between 2021 and 2024: Delinquencies were at their lowest point in 2021 but increased to one of their highest points by 2024. This is reflected in the growing credit card debt in the United States, which reached an all-time high in 2023.

Following the drastic increase directly after the COVID-19 pandemic, the delinquency rate started to gradually decline, falling to 3.37 percent in the second quarter of 2023. In the four quarters, the delinquency rate increased slightly, reaching 3.97 percent. That was significantly lower than the 8.22 percent during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter of 2020 or the peak of 9.3 percent during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2010. What does the mortgage delinquency rate tell us?The mortgage delinquency rate is the share of the total number of mortgaged home loans in the U.S. where payment is overdue by 30 days or more. Many borrowers are eventually able to service their loan, though, as indicated by the markedly lower foreclosure rates. Total home mortgage debt in the U.S. stood at almost 13 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. Not all mortgage loans are made equal‘Subprime’ loans, being targeted at high-risk borrowers and generally coupled with higher interest rates to compensate for the risk. These loans have far higher delinquency rates than conventional loans. Defaulting on such loans was one of the triggers for the 2007-2010 financial crisis, with subprime delinquency rates reaching almost 26 percent around this time. These higher delinquency rates translate into higher foreclosure rates, which peaked at just under 15 percent of all subprime mortgages in 2011.

Graph and download economic data for Delinquency Rate on All Loans, All Commercial Banks (DRALACBN) from Q1 1985 to Q4 2024 about delinquencies, commercial, loans, banks, depository institutions, rate, and USA.

As of March 2024, gen Z buy now, pay later (BNPL) users were more likely to have missed a payment than people in other age groups in the United States. Meanwhile, 35 percent of millenials had spent more on BNPL than they should have, with that share going down to 24 percent for the gen Z. Ten percent of gen X BNPL users had missed a payment.