If you have credit card debt, you're not alone. On average, Americans carry $6,194 in credit card debt, according to the 2019 Experian Consumer Credit Review.
A Credit Karma Study
According to our May 25, 2022, report of 73 million Credit Karma members with credit cards, Credit Karma members held more than $374 billion in credit card debt across more than 311 million open accounts. Average credit card debt by member was $6,198.
The average debt for individual consumers dropped from $6,194 in 2019 to $5,315 in 2020. In fact, the average balance declined in every state.
How much money does the average American owe? According to a 2020 Experian study, the average American carries $92,727 in consumer debt. Consumer debt includes a variety of personal credit accounts, such as credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, personal loans, and student loans.
According to the Federal Reserve, only 45% of U.S. cardholders pay their card balance every month. Here's a closer look at the card payment numbers from the Fed: 45% always pay their card balance in full each month.
And yet, over half of Americans surveyed (53%) say that debt reduction is a top priority—while nearly a quarter (23%) say they have no debt. And that percentage may rise.
Credit bureaus suggest that five or more accounts — which can be a mix of cards and loans — is a reasonable number to build toward over time. Having very few accounts can make it hard for scoring models to render a score for you.
While the average American has $90,460 in debt, this includes all types of consumer debt products, from credit cards to personal loans, mortgages and student debt.
Average credit card balance: $5,221. Average revolving utilization rate: 25 percent. Average number of credit cards: 3.
Total consumer debt in the U.S as of the first quarter of 2022 is $15.84 trillion. Auto and student loans doubled after the Great Recession. The average consumer debt sits at $92,727. Generation X carries the most consumer debt out of any generation, at $140,643 on average.
Credit scores are three-digit numbers that show an important piece of your financial history. Credit scores help lenders decide whether to grant you credit. The average credit score in the United States is 698, based on VantageScore® data from February 2021.
Americans carried a balance on 53% of all active credit card accounts in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the most recent available data from the American Bankers Association. Job No. 1 for anyone with a credit card is to pay off that balance in full at the end of each month.
High credit may also be called “high balance” or “original amount.” This figure is the highest monthly balance or highest amount of credit you have owed on a specific credit card account or loan during a particular period of time as determined by the bank.
The standard advice is to keep unused accounts with zero balances open. The reason is that closing the accounts reduces your available credit, which makes it appear that your utilization rate, or balance-to-limit ratio, has suddenly increased.
There is no universal number of credit cards that is “too many.” Your credit score won't tank once you hit a certain number. In reality, “too many” credit cards is the point at which you're losing money on annual fees or having trouble keeping up with bills—and that varies from person to person.
Having a lot of credit cards can hurt your credit score under any of the following conditions: You are unable to service your current debt. Your outstanding debt is more than 30% of your total available credit1 You have added too many cards in too short a time.
Kevin O'Leary, an investor on “Shark Tank” and personal finance author, said in 2018 that the ideal age to be debt-free is 45. It's at this age, said O'Leary, that you enter the last half of your career and should therefore ramp up your retirement savings in order to ensure a comfortable life in your elderly years.
If your total balance is more than 30% of the total credit limit, you may be in too much debt. Some experts consider it best to keep credit utilization between 1% and 10%, while anything between 11% and 30% is typically considered good.
Despite what you may have heard through the grapevine, it's always better to pay off your entire balance — or credit debt — immediately. Not only will this save you time and money, but it'll reflect well on your credit score.
So how much non-mortgage debt do Americans have? According to Northwestern Mutual's 2021 Planning & Progress Study, U.S. adults aged 18 and over who carry debt hold an average of $23,325 outside of their mortgages.
Generally speaking, a good debt-to-income ratio is anything less than or equal to 36%. Meanwhile, any ratio above 43% is considered too high.