NewsNational Politics

Actions

Americans owe $18.59 trillion, with credit card balances climbing

U.S. household debt hit a record $18.59 trillion in Q3, driven by rises in mortgage, credit card and student loan balances, with delinquencies still high.
Americans owe $18.59 trillion, with credit card balances climbing
Credit Card Use
Posted
and last updated

American household debt reached a new record high in the third quarter.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported total debt balances rose to $18.59 trillion between July and September, a $197 billion increase from the previous quarter.

RELATED STORY | Experts issue warnings to credit card users as debt hits record $1.14 trillion

Mortgage debt grew by $137 billion to $13.07 trillion. Credit card balances jumped $24 billion and are now 5.75% higher than a year ago.

Delinquency rates remain elevated, with 4.5% of debt in some stage of late payment.

The report said that student loan balances rose by $15 billion and now stand at $1.65 trillion.

The median credit score for new auto loans remained steady, but the report also found that some tightening of subprime lending standards.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Wednesday

03/25/2026

Mostly Clear

-° / 56°

1%

Thursday

03/26/2026

Partly Cloudy

83° / 56°

4%

Friday

03/27/2026

Mostly Clear

87° / 60°

1%

Saturday

03/28/2026

Partly Cloudy

89° / 59°

0%

Sunday

03/29/2026

Mostly Clear

89° / 61°

0%

Monday

03/30/2026

Cloudy

85° / 58°

1%

Tuesday

03/31/2026

Showers

72° / 54°

57%

Wednesday

04/01/2026

Partly Cloudy

72° / 51°

24%