Credit card debt rises to $1.26 trillion, nearing all-time record
Strong consumer spending plus rising prices are factors.
Americans' credit card debt reached $1.26 trillion, increasing by $21 billion in the second quarter of this year, according to new data Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Overall, outstanding credit card balances are now just shy of the $1.28 trillion all-time record set in the fourth quarter of last year.
Strong consumer spending typically results in higher credit card debt. Economists have also pointed to rising prices, including for essentials like groceries and gas, as a factor behind rising card balances.
Many households are also behind on their card payments.
The percentage of credit card balances that were more than 90 days delinquent rose from 7.6% to 12.8% from mid-2022 through early 2026.
"There are a lot of households who live paycheck to paycheck, and it just needs one thing to happen to them that could lead to a delinquency," New York Fed researchers said on a call with reporters on Tuesday.
But researchers also noted the higher delinquency rates can be attributed to old outstanding debts rather than people falling behind on new charges to their cards.
Americans' debt on auto loans and home equity lines of credit also increased from April through June, while student debt and mortgage debt decreased.
In total, U.S. household debt stands at $18.8 trillion.
Auto loan debt at $1.71 trillion is a new record high.
Breakdown of U.S. household debt by category:
- Mortgages: $13.12 trillion
- Auto debt: $1.71 trillion
- Student debt: $1.65 trillion
- Credit card debt: $1.26 trillion
- Home equity lines of credit: $459 billion
The New York Fed report is based on an anonymized, nationally representative sample drawn from Equifax credit report data.
