Credit Card Debt Statistics

Total credit card debt hit $1.17 trillion at the end of 2024, an increase of $24 billion from the third quarter of the year and a new record high. How does your debt compare to other Americans? If you don’t like where you stand, give us a call at (844) 276-1544 so we can discuss options to help you pay down your debt and improve your financial situation.

The Big Picture

Total U.S. credit card balance: $1.17 trillion

Total number of credit cards in the United States: 530.6 million – 17.4% increase from the previous year

Total number of Americans with a credit card: 167.2 million

Average number of credit cards per person: 2.9

Credit Usage

Average credit card balance per person: $5,972

Average credit card APR: 24.45%

Average credit limit per person: $24,900 – up 6.4%

As of Q2 2023, 32% of Americans plan on applying for new credit or refinancing existing credit in the coming year. The most popular products are credit cards (53%) and personal loans (27%) 

Credit Demand by Generation:

• Gen Z: 44% plan on applying for credit in the upcoming year
• Millennials: 49%
• Gen X: 29%
• Baby Boomers: 10%

Financial Wellbeing

Inflation is the number one financial concern for 43% of Americans

46% of Americans say their incomes didn’t keep up with inflation

20% report household incomes falling in Q1 2023

38% report their finances being worse than expected at this point in the year

31% of Americans are unable to pay a current bill or loan in full

• 26% planning on borrowing money from friends/family or use money from savings
• 16% plan on using their credit cards
• 14% plan on taking out a personal loan
• 11% plan on opening new credit card(s)