Average U.S. Credit Card Debt

4 Min Read | Last updated: January 19, 2024

Two people at a table with laptops and papers, engaged in a conversation about handling credit card debt.

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Credit card debt is on the rise. Look into the numbers behind average U.S. credit card debt and how it increases with age.

At-A-Glance

Average U.S. credit card debt ranges from $5,300 to $6,400 per person, depending on whose stats you quote.
Millennials’ average credit card debt is lower than that overall, but increases with age.

What is the average credit card debt in the U.S.? It depends on who you talk to and when you ask—it's a moving target. Here are some recent numbers that we pinned down for the average U.S. credit card debt per person:

$5,288, according to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) for 2022.¹
$5,474 for the third quarter of 2022, according to a TransUnion report.²
$6,365 for the second quarter of 2023, according to Experian.³

Interpreting Average U.S. Credit Card Debt

What’s simple and clear about average U.S. credit card debt from these numbers is that, between 2022 and 2023, its approximate range is from $5,300 to $6,400 per person.

It’s also worth noting that not everyone included in those averages is actually paying interest on that debt. That’s because the data is a snapshot in time that includes the people who pay their credit card bills in full by the due date each month, and who therefore don’t pay interest charges.

Average Credit Card Debt by Age

Meanwhile, millennials across the U.S. carry average credit card debt of $6,274, according to Experian.³

That's considerably higher than the average for two other generations (Generation Z and the silent generation). Generationally speaking, Experian found another notably high average credit card debt number for Generation X (born between baby boomers and millennials): $8,870.³

Aggregate U.S. Credit Card Debt on the Rise

Beyond these averages, it’s also clear that total credit card use is on the rise. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that aggregate credit card debt in the U.S. totaled $1.08 trillion for the quarter ending with September 2023.⁴ That's up $48 billion over the second quarter of 2023.⁴ SSeparately, the Federal Reserve Board reported that revolving credit, which is mostly credit card debt, rose 8.66.3% year over year in the thirdfourth quarter of 20232019, when it stood near $1.1 trillion.⁴

Looking at households, the third quarters of 2023 saw total household debt (including credit cards, home mortgages, home equity loans, student loans, auto loans, and other types of debt) rise by $228 billion to $17.29 trillion total.⁴

U.S. Credit Card Debt Average Interest

Again, it’s important to note that not all of that $1 trillion in credit card debt is interest-bearing. A recent study from the CFPB found that 48% of Americans carry at least some credit card balance from month to month at the end of 2022, and therefore incur interest-bearing debt.¹ The average interest rate for credit card accounts that are assessed interest was nearly 23% for August 2023, according to the Fed.⁵

The CFPB estimates that Americans paid a total of about $100 billion in interest on credit card debt by the end of 2022.⁴

The Takeaway

Average credit card debt in the U.S. on a per-person basis is in the neighborhood of $5,300 to $6,400. Aggregate household debt and revolving charge debt—mostly credit cards—rose in the third quarter of 2023.

¹ “The Consumer Credit Card Market,” Consumerfinance.gov

² “Credit Card and Personal Loan Balances Reach Record Levels as Consumers Navigate High Inflation, Rising Interest Rates,” TransUnion

³ “Experian Study: U.S. Consumer Debt Reaches $16.84 Trillion in Q2 2023,” Experian

⁴ “Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York

⁵ “Consumer Credit - G.19,” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

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Scot Finnie is a journalist who covers primarily business and technology. He was Editor-in-Chief of Computerworld for more than a decade.

All Credit Intel content is written by freelance authors and commissioned and paid for by American Express.

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