Consumers in the United States had over 16 trillion dollars in debt as of the third quarter of 2023. The majority of that debt were home mortgages, amounting to approximately 11.4 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.

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

Households Debt in the United States decreased to 70.50 percent of GDP in the third quarter of 2024 from 70.70 percent of GDP in the second 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 Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income (TDSP) from Q1 1980 to Q4 2024 about disposable, payments, debt, personal income, percent, personal, households, services, income, and USA.

In the first quarter of 2024, household debt in the United States amounted to over 71 percent of its GDP. It can be generally observed that U.S. households are more indebted by the end of the year than in any other quarter. The debt of households peaked in the last quarter of 2020, reaching the highest value since 2013. Debt to GDP ratio As it can be observed here, the household debt to GDP ratio decreased overall in the recent years. The steady growth of the gross domestic product in the United States could be a factor explaining this tendency. If the volume of debt grows at a slower pace than the GDP, the debt to GDP ratio would decrease. In addition to that, the overall value of mortgage debt in the U.S., which is the most significant component of the household debt, decreased from 2012 to the third quarter of 2014, but it has rebounded since then. Public debt in the U.S. Public debt in the United States, which is the amount of money borrowed by the government to finance budget deficits, has been increasing almost every single year. Not only that, but according to that forecast it is also expected to keep increasing during the coming years. The major holders of American government debt, as of December 2022, were Federal Reserve and government accounts and foreign and international holders. The ratio of national debt to GDP of the United States was higher than that of other major economies, but lower than that of Japan. Some of the lowest debt to GDP ratios were observed in Hong Kong SAR, Kuwait, and Turkmenistan.

The tables and interactive maps below allow users to explore the ratio of debt to income by state, metropolitan statistical area, and county for each year since 1999. Household debt is calculated from Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax Data, and household income is reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Graph and download economic data for Mortgage Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income (MDSP) from Q1 1980 to Q3 2024 about disposable, payments, mortgage, debt, personal income, percent, personal, services, income, and USA.

The home mortgage debt of households and nonprofit organizations amounted to approximately 13.1 trillion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2024. Mortgage debt has been growing steadily since 2014, when it was less than 10 billion U.S. dollars and has increased at a faster rate since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic due to the housing market boom.

Home mortgage sector in the United States

Home mortgage sector debt in the United States has been steadily growing in recent years and is beginning to come out of a period of great difficulty and problems presented to it by the economic crisis of 2008. For the previous generations in the United States the real estate market was quite stable. Financial institutions were extending credit to millions of families and allowed them to achieve ownership of their own homes. The growth of the subprime mortgages and, which went some way to contributing to the record of the highest US homeownership rate since records began, meant that many families deemed to be not quite creditworthy were provided the opportunity to purchase homes.

The rate of home mortgage sector debt rose in the United States as a direct result of the less stringent controls that resulted from the vetted and extended terms from which loans originated. There was a great deal more liquidity in the market which allowed greater access to new mortgages. The practice of packaging mortgages into securities, and their subsequent sale into the secondary market as a way of shifting risk, was to be a major factor in the formation of the American housing bubble, one of the greatest contributing factors to the global financial meltdown of 2008.

Graph and download economic data for Mortgage Debt Outstanding, All holders (DISCONTINUED) (MDOAH) from Q4 1949 to Q3 2019 about debt and USA.

The mortgage debt service ratio in the United States increased slightly, after dipping to the lowest value on record in the beginning of 2021. The ratio measures the mortgage debt service payments as a percentage of disposable personal income during a specific quarter and shows the financial burden placed on households by mortgage borrowing. In the first quarter of 2023, the total required mortgage payments amounted to approximately 3.93 percent of disposable personal income - almost half of the mortgage debt service ratio before the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in 2007.

United States - Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income was 11.28% in October of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income reached a record high of 15.85 in October of 2007 and a record low of 9.08 in January of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Mortgage Debt Outstanding by Type of Holder and Property: Mortgage Pools or Trust: Private Mortgage Conduits for One- to Four-Family Residences (DISCONTINUED) (MDOTHMPTPMCTP1T4FR) from Q1 1949 to Q3 2019 about 1 to 4 unit structures, mortgage, family, debt, residents, private, and USA.

United States Mortgage Debt: Federal: Fedl Housing Adm & Dep of Vet Affairs (FHA) data was reported at 14.069 USD bn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 13.357 USD bn for 2016. United States Mortgage Debt: Federal: Fedl Housing Adm & Dep of Vet Affairs (FHA) data is updated yearly, averaging 3.712 USD bn from Dec 1949 (Median) to 2017, with 69 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.069 USD bn in 2017 and a record low of 27.000 USD mn in 1949. United States Mortgage Debt: Federal: Fedl Housing Adm & Dep of Vet Affairs (FHA) 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.KB010: Mortgage Debt Outstanding: Annual.

In 2023, the debt services payments to disposable income ratio in the United States has remained relatively stable. That came after a sharp drop of the ratio in 2021 and 2022, which was followed by a rapid increase of the debt service payments, as they represented over 9.8 percent of their personal disposable income in the last quarter of 2023. In this context, debt service refers to the amount of money that households need to pay up their debts, including the interest rates of their loans and lending.

Debt Balance Mortgages in the United States increased to 12.61 Trillion USD in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 12.59 Trillion USD in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Debt Balance Mortgages.

United States Mortgage Debt: 1 to 4 Family Res: Individuals data was reported at 912.840 USD bn in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 904.269 USD bn for Mar 2018. United States Mortgage Debt: 1 to 4 Family Res: Individuals data is updated quarterly, averaging 176.797 USD bn from Dec 1949 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 269 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,182.406 USD bn in Sep 2006 and a record low of 33.000 USD mn in Dec 1949. United States Mortgage Debt: 1 to 4 Family Res: Individuals 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.KB009: Mortgage Debt Outstanding.

United States Mortgage Debt: Major Financial Institutions data was reported at 5,391.001 USD bn in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,341.608 USD bn for Mar 2018. United States Mortgage Debt: Major Financial Institutions data is updated quarterly, averaging 1,248.206 USD bn from Dec 1949 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 269 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,391.001 USD bn in Jun 2018 and a record low of 42.597 USD bn in Dec 1949. United States Mortgage Debt: Major Financial Institutions 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.KB009: Mortgage Debt Outstanding.

United States Mortgage Debt: 1 to 4 Family Res: Federal & Rel Agencies: FHA data was reported at 12.080 USD bn in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 11.930 USD bn for Mar 2018. United States Mortgage Debt: 1 to 4 Family Res: Federal & Rel Agencies: FHA data is updated quarterly, averaging 1.897 USD bn from Mar 1949 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 278 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.080 USD bn in Jun 2018 and a record low of 18.000 USD mn in Sep 1949. United States Mortgage Debt: 1 to 4 Family Res: Federal & Rel Agencies: FHA 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.KB009: Mortgage Debt Outstanding.

The Mortgage Debt Outstanding table is no longer being updated. All of the series that were published in this table can be found in the Financial Accounts of the United States.

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.