According to Experian, average total consumer household debt in 2023 is $104,215. That's up 11% from 2020, when average total consumer debt was $92,727.
Running up $50,000 in credit card debt is not impossible. About two million Americans do it every year. Paying off that bill?
The average personal loan debt per borrower is $11,652 as of Q3 2024. A year before, the average debt per borrower was $11,692. Most borrowers (50.7%) take out a personal loan to consolidate debt or refinance credit cards. The next-closest reason is for everyday bills (8.7%).
Here's the average debt balances by age group: Gen Z (ages 18 to 23): $9,593. Millennials (ages 24 to 39): $78,396. Gen X (ages 40 to 55): $135,841.
U.S. consumers carry $6,501 in credit card debt on average, according to Experian data, but if your balance is much higher—say, $20,000 or beyond—you may feel hopeless. Paying off a high credit card balance can be a daunting task, but it is possible.
Both Gen Zers and younger millennials were hit by a nasty one-two punch — the Covid-19 pandemic and then the worst inflation in decades — at critical points in their financial journeys. Now, those aged 18 to 29 are carrying $1.12 trillion of debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Personal Loan Maximums
Most lenders state that their maximum personal loan amount is $50,000, though some will go as high as $100,000. Some borrowers, usually wealthy and with high credit scores, might be able to borrow more.
The typical American has $8,000 in the bank, according to the Federal Reserve. That's the median transaction account balance as of 2022, which includes savings, checking, money market, call accounts, and prepaid debit cards. The average balance in those accounts is $62,410.
In a recent NerdWallet survey, 57% of Americans said they were living paycheck to paycheck.
At the close of 2019, the average household had a credit card debt of $7,499. During the first quarter of 2021, it dropped to $6,209. In 2022, credit card debt rose again to $7,951 and has increased linearly. In 2023, it reached $8,599 — $75 shy of the 2024 average.
The Standard Route is what credit companies and lenders recommend. If this is the graduate's choice, he or she will be debt free around the age of 58. It will take a total of 36 years to complete. It's a whole lot of time but it's the standard for a lot of people.
Key takeaways. Debt-to-income ratio is your monthly debt obligations compared to your gross monthly income (before taxes), expressed as a percentage. A good debt-to-income ratio is less than or equal to 36%. Any debt-to-income ratio above 43% is considered to be too much debt.
Net worth is the difference between the values of your assets and liabilities. The average American net worth is $1,063,700, as of 2022. Net worth averages increase with age from $183,500 for those 35 and under to $1,794,600 for those 65 to 74. Net worth, however, tends to drop for those 75 and older.
According to TransUnion's Q3 2024 Credit Industry Insights Report, the average personal loan debt per borrower sits at $11,652. That beats the average debt amount of $10,749in Q3 2022 by just under $1,000. However, many lenders offer loan amounts much higher than the average balance.
A $20,000 loan at 5% for 60 months (5 years) will cost you a total of $22,645.48, whereas the same loan at 3% will cost you $21,562.43. That's a savings of $1,083.05. That same wise shopper will look not only at the interest rate but also the length of the loan.
Requirements for a $5,000 Personal Loan
Requirements for a $5,000 loan vary by lender. But in general, you should have at least Fair credit, which is a score of 580 or above. Lenders may also look at other factors, such as your income and your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), during the application process.
With FICO, fair or good credit scores fall within the ranges of 580 to 739, and with VantageScore, fair or good ranges between 601 to 780. Many personal loan lenders offer amounts starting around $3,000 to $5,000, but with Upgrade, you can apply for as little as $1,000 (and as much as $50,000).
Which type of loan is the cheapest? Generally, secured loans are cheaper than unsecured loans because they have lower interest rates and more extended repayment periods. However, secured loans also require collateral, which means you risk losing your assets if you default.
The World's Largest Direct Loan Just Landed at Over $2 Billion. U.K. insurance broker The Ardonagh Group has secured the largest-ever loan from a group of private credit funds led by Ares Management, according to a statement by the lender.
The average FICO credit score in the US is 717, according to the latest FICO data. The average VantageScore is 701 as of January 2024.
Gen X (ages 43 to 58) not only carries the most debt on average of all the generations, but is also the debt leader in credit card and total non-mortgage debt.