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.

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.

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

Daily, weekly and monthly data showing seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted UK spending using debit and credit cards. These are official statistics in development. Source: CHAPS, Bank of England.

Housing data for proportion of outstanding debt, schedule payment and financial obligations by credit type can aid with your research. This adapted Equifax data is by Canada and by average CMA size. A detailed table with each CMA is available. Both tables are broken into debt by: mortgages HELOCs lines of credit auto loans credit cards all other credit Note: Quarterly data ranges from 2019 Q1 to 2023. Source: Equifax with calculations from CMHC

Debt financing (mortgage, line of credit, term loan, credit card) terms and conditions, average interest rates and average length of term for small and medium enterprises in 2020 by region, CMA level, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), demographics, age of business, employment size, rate of growth, etc.

Underlying data from annex B for the report that uses data from the YouGov DebtTrack surveys to update trend information about credit use and the extent of consumer indebtedness in Britain. The analysis suggests a continued decrease in the proportion of households using unsecured credit, but little change in the average amount of unsecured debt among credit users. The data also indicated a decline in the incidence of financial difficulty.

The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP.

The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.

The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.

Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage.

The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage.

Secure Access FRS data
In addition to the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, Secure Access datasets, containing unrounded data and additional variables, are also available for FRS from 2005/06 onwards - see SN 9256. Prospective users of the Secure Access version of the FRS will need to fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available from http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/178323/secure_frs_application_guidance.pdf" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access.

FRS, HBAI and PI
The FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503, respectively. The Secure Access versions are held under SN 7196 and 9257 (see above).

FRS 2023-24

Alongside the usual topics covered, the 2023-2024 FRS includes new variables on veterans (ex-armed forces, former regulars and reserves); care leavers (where young adults were previously living in care, during their teenage years); and, for the self-employed, length of time in that occupation. For doctors, we add clarifying variables for NHS vs private earnings streams. There are new variables on food support from friends/relatives, which complement the existing food bank and household food security set. 2023-2024 also includes Cost of Living Payment variables, including those on certain state benefits and the Warm Homes Discount scheme.

The achieved sample was over 16,500 households (28,500+ adults). A large majority of interviews were face-to-face with a minority being by telephone.

The BENUNIT table contains a raft of variables on the new material deprivation question set; see GOV.UK for background.

This version of the dataset (End User Licence) adds the DEBT table for the first time this year. The table contains responses on credit card debt, loan debt, hire purchase debt and store card debt.

Please send any feedback directly to the FRS Team Inbox: team.frs@dwp.gov.uk

Documentation

Many variables in the data files are fully labelled, but additional details can be found in the frs2324_variable_listing_eul.xlsx document.

Debt financing (mortgage, line of credit, term loan, credit card) terms and conditions, average interest rates and average length of term for small and medium enterprises in 2020 by region, CMA level, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), demographics, age of business, employment size, rate of growth, etc.

Information on mortgage and consumer debt activity in Canada, the provinces and CMAs. These EXCEL tables give you insight on mortgage and consumer debt activity in Canada, the provinces and Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). This housing data looks at: mortgage holders and lenders average payments credit scores consumer debt mortgage insurance mortgage performance arrear and foreclosure rates

Households Debt in Canada decreased to 99.58 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 from 100.39 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Canada Households Debt To Gdp- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Households Debt in Canada decreased to 171.10 percent of gross income in 2025 from 173.07 percent in 2024. This dataset provides - Canada Households Debt To Income- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.