Useful Credit Card Debt Statistics

See where you stand compared to other consumers.

Credit cards can help us – especially in a financial emergency. But while they can be a saving grace in a time of financial need, or the perfect tool to help you live the life you want, they can also ruin your financial health when they’re abused.

Take a look at America’s credit card spending. Most Americans have a love/hate relationship with their credit cards – so if you curse and covet credit at the same time, you’re not alone. These stats can help you see where you stand so you can make the right choices when it comes to credit.

You may notice some of the stats below seem to disagree. Sometimes it just depends on the source you’re looking at and there’s often different ways to read the data. For instance, average credit card debt may be calculated using the entire population in the U.S. or it may be calculated based on only those people who actually have a credit card. Since those two numbers are very different, you can have different stats for average debt.

Credit card debt statistics for American households

• Total amount American consumers owe in credit card debt (2018) — $944 billion [1]
• Average amount U.S. households owe in credit card debt (2018) — $15,561 [1]
• Average revolving credit card debt (balances carried month-to-month) per household in the U.S. (2018) — $6,929[1]

Credit card debt statistics per borrower

• Average credit card debt per borrower in 2018 — $7,697 [2]
• Average credit card debt per borrower in 2017 — $6,354 [3]
• Average credit card debt per borrower in 2016 — $6,188 [9]

Credit card interest rate statistics

• Average national APR (annual percentage rate) on credit cards as of January 2019 — 17.47% [4]
• Lowest credit card interest rate available as of January 2019 — 14.24% [5]
• Average penalty interest rate for credit cardholders who missed a payment — 28.45% [10]

Credit Card Debt for College Students

• The average soon-to-be college graduate has 1.35 credit cards [6]
• 33% have made a late payment and 31% have maxed out [6]
• Average student credit card balance in 2016 was $2,573 [7]

Other statistics related to unsecured debt

• Average payday loan amount — $375 [8]
• Average payday finance charges — $15-$30 / $100 borrowed [11]
• Average payday loan APR — 391% [8]
• Average auto title loan — $1000 [8]

Buried by credit card debt?

Are you buried in credit card debt? Debt.com can help negotiate with your creditors to lower your monthly payments so you can regain control. Call us today at 1-888-503-5563 to get started or fill out the form to the right and we’ll be in touch soon.