Credit Card Debt Statistics for 2023

Credit card debt is a key indicator of how healthy U.S. households are financially. The average credit card balance is $10,170 per household, which is $2,242 below the all-time record, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Debt Study. All debt amounts on this page are adjusted for inflation, to allow for proper comparison against historical data.

Key Credit Card Debt Statistics

  • Total Debt: $1.20 trillion
  • Household Average: $10,170
  • Household Record: $12,412 (Q4 2007)
  • Average APR on Debt: 22.77%
  • Delinquency Rate: 2.58% of accounts are 30+ days delinquent
  • Charge-Off Rate: 3.38% of accounts are charged-off
  • End-of-Year Projection: $150 billion increase in total debt

Total Credit Card Debt Over Time

Total credit card debt hit a record in absolute terms during Q2 2023.

(Source: FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax, Federal Reserve & WalletHub data)

Credit Card Debt by Household

When you adjust for inflation, it’s clear the average household’s balance is not a record.

(Source: WalletHub Data, Q2 2023)

Credit Card Debt by State

Even in states with relatively little credit card debt, it will take 11+ months to pay off the median credit card balance, assuming an average APR and monthly payment amount.

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States with the Most Credit Card Debt

State Median Credit-Card Debt Months & Days Until Payoff
Alaska $3,517 17 months and 14 days
District of Columbia $3,290 15 months and 7 days
Colorado $3,106 15 months and 4 days
New Hampshire $2,793 14 months and 13 days
Vermont $2,515 14 months and 12 days
Washington $2,911 14 months and 8 days
Oregon $2,615 14 months and 5 days
Wyoming $2,647 13 months and 26 days
Virginia $2,867 13 months and 25 days
Arizona $2,778 13 months and 24 days

 

States with the Least Credit Card Debt

State Median Credit-Card Debt Months & Days Until Payoff
North Carolina $2,645 12 months and 10 days
Hawaii $2,936 12 months and 9 days
Indiana $2,322 12 months and 6 days
Arkansas $2,360 11 months and 29 days
Ohio $2,375 11 months and 27 days
Iowa $2,077 11 months and 21 days
Pennsylvania $2,439 11 months and 15 days
Kentucky $2,230 11 months and 13 days
Mississippi $2,304 11 months and 8 days
West Virginia $2,131 11 months and 3 days

See the complete rankings for the states with the most and least credit card debt.

Credit Card Debt by Age

People ages 30-59 have an average of 131.47% more credit card debt than their older and younger counterparts. Below, you can see the latest averages by age group.

  • 70+ years old: $1,481
  • 60-69 years old: $2,535
  • 50-59 years old: $3,777
  • 40-49 years old: $4,384
  • 30-39 years old: $3,746
  • 18-29 years old: $1,128

See historical data for credit card debt levels by age.

Interest Rates on Credit Card Debt

Consumers with credit card debt are now paying interest at an annual rate in excess of 20%. As a result, balance transfer credit card offers with 0% introductory APRs are more valuable than ever.

See data for previous years’ credit card interest rates.

Number of Accounts With Credit Card Debt

There are 441 million credit card accounts, of which 191 million accounts (43.4%) had a revolving balance, carried from month to month, during Q2 2023. This percentage has not changed much in recent years.

(Source: American Bankers Association, 2023)

Charge-Off & Delinquency Rates

The rates of consumers who are 30+ days late on their credit card bill or who’ve charged-off altogether are trending upward, indicating that minimum payments are becoming harder to make.

See data for previous years’ delinquency and charge-off rates.

Credit Card Debt Survey Stats

WalletHub conducted a nationally representative survey to evaluate how people are dealing with credit card debt. You can find some key statistics below.

  • 56% of people say they have more credit card debt than they did 12 months ago.
  • 57% of people with credit card debt say it will take them more than a year to pay it off.
  • More than a quarter of Americans admit they’d go into credit card debt for frivolous spending.
  • 45% of people say credit card debt makes them feel stressed.
  • 85% of Americans say their personal finances are managed better than the federal government.
  • More than 1 in 3 Americans with credit card debt say they would do anything to be debt-free.

Check out the full survey results.

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