Thank you nerdwallet for this great overview of the current state of American Consumer Debt.
It would appear that American consumers have become more conservative in their accumulation of debt. Like all economic news, its a double edged sword. Less spending slows down the economy overall, while less debt strengthens a families financial safety net.
The numbers are a bit skewed due to a small percentage of households being in a huge amount of debt, and a large number of households with no debt at all.
The average American household debt is just under $15,500.
U.S. household consumer debt profile:
- Average credit card debt: $15,480
- Average mortgage debt: $156,474
- Average student loan debt: $33,424
In total, American consumers owe:
- $11.74 trillion in debt
- An increase of 5.% from last year
- $872.2 billion in credit card debt
- $8.24 trillion in mortgages
- $1,131.7 billion in student loans
- An increase of 14.2% from last year
Total Credit Card Debt | Average Household Credit Card Debt | Average Indebted Household Debt | |
May 2014 | $872.2 billion | $7,221 | $15,480 |
Change from April | 0.21% | 0.14% | 0.14% |
Change from May 2013 | 1.83% | 1.01% | 1.01% |
Change from April, annualized | 2.46% | 1.65% | 1.65% |
March 31, 2010 | December 30, 2012 | |
---|---|---|
Total revolving debt | $906.7 billion | $849.8 billion |
Number of U.S. households | 116,716,292 | 119,397,330* |
Average credit card debt per household | $7,768 | $7,117* |
% of households with a credit card balance | 43.2% | 46.7% |
Average credit card debt per indebted household | $17,630 | $15,257 |