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Credit Card Debt Statistics
How does you stack up versus average American credit card debt statistics?
What’s the state of credit card debt for Americans? According to the latest data from the New York Federal Reserve, the national has $990 billion in credit card debt. But how do credit card debt statistics look for American households?
How much credit card debt does the average American have?
Not all Americans use credit cards—but most do. Nearly eight out of ten Americans (79%) have at least one card in their name.[1] Of those, only 45.4% of households carry credit card debt over from month to month.[2] Overall consumer debt has increased for Americans, average credit card balances jumped to $7,279.
Total U.S. Credit Card Debt
Total amount American consumers owe in revolving credit card debt (as of March 2023) — $986 billion[4]
The average amount owed by households that carry credit card debt (as of Dec 2022) — $7,279[4]
Credit card debt statistics per borrower
Average credit card debt per borrower in 2022 — $5,910[11]
Average credit card debt per borrower in 2021 — $5,525[3]
Average credit card debt per borrower in 2020 — $5,897[3]
Average credit card debt per borrower in 2019 — $6,494[3]
Credit card interest rate statistics
Average national APR (annual percentage rate) on credit cards as of 2023 — 20.77%[5]
Average rate on low-interest credit cards — 17.92%[5]
Average penalty interest rate for credit cardholders who missed a payment — 25.57%[6]
Credit card debt for college students
The average college student had 5 credit cards in 2019[7]
Only 60% of college students pay the full balance of their bill every month[7]
22% of college students have paid a credit card bill late at least once[7]
Average balance of a student’s credit card for the latest month was $1,423 in 2019[7]
23% of students replied “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” to the statement that their credit card debts were out of control[7]
Other statistics related to unsecured debt
Average payday loan amount — $350 on a two-week term[8]
Average payday loan cost from a storefront — $15 / $100 borrowed[9]
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