American credit card debt statistics and key findings
- Average American family credit card debt: $6,270
- Total outstanding U.S. consumer debt: $4.2 trillion
- Total credit card debt: $807 billion
- 45.4% of families carry some sort of credit card debt.
- Families with the lowest quartile of net worth (median net worth of $310) hold an average of $4,830 in credit card debt, although only 44% have card debt.
- The West holds the highest average credit card debt, averaging over $7,000.
Average credit card debt in America
The average credit circuit board debt of U.S. families is $ 6,270, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve ’ s Survey of Consumer Finances. This information comes from data collected through 2019, representing the most authentic measurement of credit circuit board obligation in the U.S .
American consumer debt (billions)
|
Credit card debt |
Total debt |
Percentage of credit card debt to total debt |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | $693 | $7,555 | 9.2% |
| 2004 | $706 | $8,833 | 8.0% |
| 2005 | $732 | $9,792 | 7.5% |
| 2006 | $754 | $11,111 | 6.8% |
| 2007 | $817 | $12,133 | 6.7% |
| 2008 | $858 | $12,675 | 6.8% |
| 2009 | $812 | $12,279 | 6.6% |
| 2010 | $731 | $11,844 | 6.2% |
| 2011 | $693 | $11,661 | 5.9% |
| 2012 | $674 | $11,310 | 6.0% |
| 2013 | $672 | $11,280 | 6.0% |
| 2014 | $680 | $11,710 | 5.8% |
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Average credit card debt by state
How to Pay Down Credit Card Debt
Learn more average credit tease debt varied widely by state. The typical borrower in Alaska carries the most recognition card debt — $ 6,617 on average. This is 10 % more than Connecticut, which carries the following highest median credit batting order debt .
The average borrower in Iowa holds good $ 4,289 in recognition poster debt, which is the least of any state. Wisconsin and Kentucky were among other states that had the lowest average credit card debt .
|
Rank |
State |
2020 average credit card balance |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Alabama | $5,047 |
| 1 | Alaska | $6,617 |
| 22 | Arizona | $5,157 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $4,791 |
| 26 | California | $5,120 |
| 11 | Colorado | $5,541 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $6,040 |
| 12 | Delaware | $5,462 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $5,671 |
| 9 | Florida | $5,623 |
| 7 | Georgia | $5,693 |
| 10 | Hawaii | $5,614 |
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Average credit card debt by age
median credit circuit board debt peaks for those who are between 45 and 54 years previous, at $ 3,200 .
|
Median credit card debt |
Average credit card debt |
Percentage who carry debt |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Younger than 35 | $1,900 | $3,660 | 47.6% |
| 35-44 | $2,700 | $5,990 | 50.5% |
| 45-54 | $3,200 | $7,670 | 51.7% |
| 55-64 | $3,000 | $6,880 | 46.6% |
| 65-74 | $2,850 | $7,030 | 41.1% |
| 75 or older | $2,700 | $8,080 | 28.0% |
Average credit card debt by income
The greater the family income, the higher the credit tease debt. Individuals in the highest annual income percentile, 90th to 100th, had an modal of $ 12,600 in credit batting order debt — more than three times deoxyadenosine monophosphate much as households making the least .
|
Income percentile |
Median annual income |
Percentage who have credit card debt |
Average credit card debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 20 | $16,290 | 30.5% | $3,830 |
| 20-39.9 | $35,630 | 45.6% | $4,650 |
| 40-59.9 | $59,050 | 55.0% | $4,910 |
| 60-79.9 | $95,700 | 56.8% | $6,990 |
| 80-89.9 | $151,700 | 45.9% | $9,780 |
| 90-100 | $290,160 | 32.2% | $12,600 |
Average credit card debt by education level
People with college degrees carry higher credit poster balances, even though merely 43 % carry credit card debt, compared with 52 % who have some college and 47 % who ended their department of education after high gear school .
Average credit card debt by race
People who identified as flannel ( with no Hispanic beginning ) reported their families carried an average of $ 6,940 in credit debt — the highest sum of any racial group .
They were followed by “ other ” — which includes Asians, American Indians and people who identify as multi-racial — with an average credit card debt of $ 6,320. Black households carried the least debt with an modal of $ 3,940, which is 37 % lower than the nationally average.
How the COVID-19 crisis changed credit card debt in America
The average debt for individual consumers dropped from $ 6,194 in 2019 to $ 5,315 in 2020. In fact, the average remainder declined in every state .
Following years of growth, both outstanding credit batting order debt and credit limits from issuers dropped in 2020 amid the coronavirus crisis. The libra decreases have broadly been attributed to drop-offs in outgo during quarantine periods and the ability to pay down balances with economic impact payments and auxiliary unemployment money .
Banks decreased card limits for 34 % of consumers at the start of the crisis, according to CompareCards, as a room to mitigate electric potential losses in unsealed economic times .
