The Average American Has This Much Credit Card Debt. How Do You Stack Up? (2024)

FAQs

What does the average American have in credit card debt? ›

How much credit card debt does the average person owe? On average, each U.S. household has $7,951 in credit card debt, as of this analysis. With an average of 2.6 people per household, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, that's about $3,058 in credit card debt per person.

However, it's generally a good idea to have two or three active credit card accounts, in addition to other types of credit such as student loans, an auto loan or a mortgage. Just remember: The number of credit cards you own is less important than how you use them.

Americans continue to bury themselves in credit card debt this year, with the latest total balance inching close to $1 trillion. U.S. consumers now owe $986 billion on their charge cards, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data released Monday.

Terms may apply to offers listed on this page. American households carry a total of $17 trillion in debt as of the first quarter of 2023, and the average household debt is $101,915 as of the end of 2022. How is that debt split between mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and other types of loans?

How many credit cards does the average person have? According to the latest figures from Experian, the average American has 3.84 credit cards with an average credit limit of $30,365.

An Experian report shows that, on average, people have three different credit card accounts. Roughly 191 million American adults have at least one credit card account, half of all Americans have at least two cards and 13% have at least five cards. There's no right number for how many cards you should have.

What percentage of America is debt-free? According to that same Experian study, less than 25% of American households are debt-free. This figure may be small for a variety of reasons, particularly because of the high number of home mortgages and auto loans many Americans have.

How many people have $50,000 in credit card debt? ›

Running up $50,000 in credit card debt is not impossible. About two million Americans do it every year.

The percentage of credit cardholders with five-figure debt continues to grow. 22.6% of American credit cardholders across the 100 largest metros have balances of at least $10,000 — up 45.8% from 2019 and 32.9% from 2021.

Credit card debt today

A total of 35 percent of Americans carry credit card debt from month to month, according to a January 2023 Bankrate survey of 2,458 U.S. adults— an increase of 6 percent from 2022.

Majority of Americans Have Less Than $1K in Their Savings Now. Most Americans do not have a major savings cushion to fall back on — and that's consistent. According to GOBankingRates' survey, 57% had less than $1,000 in their savings in both 2022 and 2023.

Over a third (35 percent) of all U.S. adults carry credit card debt from month to month, up from 29 percent last year.

Americans are sinking into debt after hunkering down and building their financial savings during the pandemic. The sharp rise in credit card debt has been a long time coming, with Americans increasingly relying on plastic to make purchases.

Norway is the country with the highest level of household debt based on OECD data followed by Denmark and the Netherlands.

A good goal is to be debt-free by retirement age, either 65 or earlier if you want. If you have other goals, such as taking a sabbatical or starting a business, you should make sure that your debt isn't going to hold you back.

A survey by NerdWallet, the personal finance company, found the average U.S. household carrying $7,486 in credit-card debt, a 29-percent increase from a year earlier. A third poll, from the personal finance website GOBankingRates, found that 14 million Americans owe more than $10,000 in credit-card debt.

How much does the average 25 year old have in credit card debt? ›

Wealthy Americans generally use credit cards the same way that everyone else does. They opt for cash back and no annual fee cards, and generally trust the big issuers. But they have some bad habits, too -- about half had an automatic payment set up, and only a third pay their statement or full balance every month.

What Credit Card Do the Super Rich Use? The super rich use a variety of different credit cards, many of which have strict requirements to obtain, such as invitation only or a high minimum net worth. Such cards include the American Express Centurion (Black Card) and the JP Morgan Chase Reserve.

Credit cards play a major role in the financial lives of wealthy Americans. While they use credit cards for similar reasons as other Americans, they also rely on credit cards to manage their finances, earn rewards, and take advantage of exclusive benefits that come with high-end credit cards.

It is not bad to have a lot of credit cards with zero balance because positive information will appear on your credit reports each month since all of the accounts are current. Having credit cards with zero balance also results in a low credit utilization ratio, which is good for your credit score, too.

A good credit limit is above $30,000, as that is the average credit card limit, according to Experian. To get a credit limit this high, you typically need an excellent credit score, a high income and little to no existing debt.

How many credit cards is too many or too few? Credit scoring formulas don't punish you for having too many credit accounts, but you can have too few. Credit bureaus suggest that five or more accounts — which can be a mix of cards and loans — is a reasonable number to build toward over time.

There is no universal number of credit cards that is “too many.” Your credit score won't tank once you hit a certain number. In reality, the point of “too many” credit cards is when you're losing money on annual fees or having trouble keeping up with bills — and that varies from person to person.

Credit experts advise against closing credit cards, even when you're not using them, for good reason. “Canceling a credit card has the potential to reduce your score, not increase it,” says Beverly Harzog, credit card expert and consumer finance analyst for U.S. News & World Report.

There's no such thing as a bad number of credit cards to have, but having more cards than you can successfully manage may do more harm than good. On the positive side, having different cards can prevent you from overspending on a single card—and help you save money, earn rewards, and lower your credit utilization.

Can you live in America without debt? ›

It might appear impossible, but many consumers succeed in living their entire lives without any debt. People of a variety of ages and income levels have made this choice. It's not an easy feat, but if it's something you truly want, don't let naysayers talk you out of it.

Living paycheck to paycheck is the common term for those who don't have enough money to pay for future expenses until their next paycheck arrives.

The U.S. has had debt since its inception. Our records show that debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War amounted to $75,463,476.52 by January 1, 1791. Over the following 45 years, the debt grew. Notably, the public debt actually shrank to zero by January 1835, under President Andrew Jackson.

Borrowing. Experian compared debt balances among men and women and found that, on average: Men have 2% more credit card debt than women. Men have 20% more personal loan debt than women.

Americans have hit a new record for credit card debt — and that debt is surpassing how much they have in their emergency savings, according to a new Bankrate.com report. The report reveals that more than a third (36%) of U.S. adults owe more money in credit card debt than they have saved.

42% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings as of 2022. The average American savings account balance is $4,500. Between 1959-2022, the average U.S. savings rate has been 8.96%. The average household savings rate in the U.S. was only 5.1% in the second half of 2022.

The average American holds a debt balance of $96,371, according to 2021 Experian data, the latest data available. That's up 3.9 percent from 2020's average balance of $92,727, largely due to the rising balance of mortgage and auto loans.

Americans lean more on credit cards as expenses stay high: 46% of cardholders now carry debt from month to month. As daily expenses stay high due to inflation, more Americans are relying on credit cards to make ends meet and fewer are able to pay their bills in full at the end of the month.

Approximately 16% of Americans have bad credit, according to Experian data. What the Experian data indicates is that more people have very good credit scores than have bad or subprime credit scores.

Today's Paycheck-to-Paycheck Landscape

As of January 2023, 60% of United States adults, including more than four in 10 high-income consumers, live paycheck to paycheck, down 4 percentage points from January 2022.

Do credit card companies ever forgive debts? ›

Credit cards are another example of a type of debt that generally doesn't have forgiveness options. Credit card debt forgiveness is unlikely as credit card issuers tend to expect you to repay the money you borrow, and if you don't repay that money, your debt can end up in collections.

Here is the median and average checking account balances in the US, for Americans who have checking accounts: Median: $2,900. Average (Mean): $9,132.

What's better, the 2018 Retirement Savings assessment shows 16 percent of Americans have $300,000 or more saved; 10 percent have $200,000 to $299,999; and 12 percent have $100,000 to $199,999. Twenty percent of survey respondents report having somewhere between $10,000 and $100,000 in their nest egg so far.

Despite headlines of record low unemployment and a booming economy, just 43% of Americans are certain they could come up with $2,000 for an unexpected expense.

It could lead to credit card debt

That's a situation you never want to be in, because credit cards have high interest rates. In fact, the average credit card interest rate recently surpassed 20%. That means a $5,000 balance could cost you over $1,000 per year in credit card interest.

Unfortunately, most people with an active credit card account don't always pay their bills in full. A November 2022 LendingTree survey found that just 35% of cardholders say they always pay their credit card balance in full every month, while 65% say they carry a balance at least some of the time.

The average American household had transaction accounts worth $41,600 in 2019. This is 2.3% lower than the average recorded in 2016. In terms of median values, the 2019 figure of $5,300 is 10.65% higher than the 2016 median balance of $4,790.

It could lead to credit card debt

That's a situation you never want to be in, because credit cards have high interest rates. In fact, the average credit card interest rate recently surpassed 20%. That means a $5,000 balance could cost you over $1,000 per year in credit card interest.

How much credit card debt does the average 30 year old American have? ›

The average credit card debt for 30 year olds is roughly $4,200, according to the Experian data report.

What percentage of America is debt-free? According to that same Experian study, less than 25% of American households are debt-free. This figure may be small for a variety of reasons, particularly because of the high number of home mortgages and auto loans many Americans have.

Living on credit cards can't last forever, because eventually you'll reach the end of your credit line. Consider it a stop-gap measure, not a permanent plan. “In a lot of cases, you won't know how long your emergency will last,” says Nitzsche. “It could be a few months, it could be a year.

“That's because the best balance transfer and personal loan terms are reserved for people with strong credit scores. $20,000 is a lot of credit card debt and it sounds like you're having trouble making progress,” says Rossman.

Credit cards are another example of a type of debt that generally doesn't have forgiveness options. Credit card debt forgiveness is unlikely as credit card issuers tend to expect you to repay the money you borrow, and if you don't repay that money, your debt can end up in collections.

The hardest way, or impossible way, to pay off $15,000 in credit card debt, or any amount, is by only making minimum payments every month. A minimum payment of 3% a month on $15,000 worth of debt means 227 months (almost 19 years) of payments, starting at $450 a month.

Just as disturbing, 1 in 5 Americans have more than $20,000 in credit card debt. And 33% expect to spend at least two years paying it off, and 3% believe that they won't ever erase it.

Credit Karma members closest to midlife carry the most average total debt. Generation X averages $61,036 in debt, followed by baby boomer members, who have an average total debt of $52,401.

According to data published by London-based investment fintech Invezz, Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the US are the top five nations with the highest level of government debt.