Comprehensive Debt Consolidation Reviews for 2026

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Americans have a record amount of credit card debt $1.252 trillion, to be precise. This credit card debt stats page tracks Americans' credit card use each month.

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While credit card debt tends to increase year over year, it usually falls from Q4 of one year to Q1 of the next. Even with this quarter's decline, credit card balances have actually risen by $482 billion considering that Q1 2021, when credit card debt bottomed out at $770 billion during the pandemic.

Americans' charge card financial obligation is $325 billion higher than the pre-pandemic record set in Q4 2019, when balances stood at $927 billion. (That's a 35% boost.) Charge card balances have actually traditionally rebounded after first-quarter declines, though future borrowing patterns will depend on elements including rate of interest, inflation and more comprehensive economic conditions.

Can Debt Relief Help Your Credit Future?

Credit card financial obligation rose steadily till the monetary crisis, then declined from $866 billion in Q4 2008 to $660 billion in Q1 2013 before resuming its upward trajectory. Then, when the pandemic took hold in 2020, credit card balances plunged again from $927 billion in Q4 2019 to $770 billion in Q1 2021.

Credit cardholders in Connecticut have the highest typical credit card financial obligation of any state, according to LendingTree information, while those in Mississippi have the most affordable. Source: LendingTree analysis of the anonymized credit reports of more than 400,000 LendingTree users in the 3rd quarter of 2025 and more than 410,000 in Q3 2024.

Joint accounts were divided in half to show shared responsibility between the account holders. LendingTree experts examined anonymized credit report information from Q3 2025 for more than 400,000 LendingTree users to calculate these averages and develop a list of states with the most debt. The analysis was also compared to Q3 2024 information from more than 410,000 reports.

Eleven states had average balances of at least $9,000. Washington has the fastest-growing card financial obligation in the duration analyzed.

Support for Over-Leveraged Households in 2026

Three other states saw double-digit increases, including South Dakota (up 11.7%), Nebraska (up 11.3%) and Wisconsin (up 10.2%). On The Other Hand, New Mexico saw the biggest year-over-year reduction in financial obligation, with its citizens' financial obligation falling 10.3% from $6,543 to $5,871. In all, seven states saw credit card balances decrease in the previous year.

Fewer than half of adult credit cardholders (45%) brought a balance on a credit card for at least one month in the previous year, according to a May 2026 Federal Reserve research study using 2025 information. Paying a charge card balance completely each month is the most effective method to avoid interest charges and keep debt from accumulating.

For all credit cards, the typical APR in Q2 2026 was 20.94%. For cards accumulating interest, the average in Q2 2026 was 22.15%. For new credit card offers, the average is 23.79%. Typical APR, existing card accounts: 20.94% Typical APR, accounts that accumulate interest: 22.15% Typical APR, new credit card provides: 23.79% The Federal Reserve's G. 19 consumer credit report showed that the typical APRs for cards accruing interest increased to 22.15% in Q2 2026, up from 21.52% in Q1 2026.

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Consumers opening a new credit card account may face greater rates than the averages for existing accounts. The current LendingTree information on credit card APRs reveals that the average APR with a new credit card deal is 23.79%, with the typical card offering an APR variety of 20.18% to 27.41%.

The 23.79% average was the same for the 2nd straight month and 3rd in 4. It's the very first time considering that LendingTree started tracking card rates regular monthly that they went the same in back-to-back months. That stability is most likely the result of the Fed leaving rates unchanged throughout 2026. When the Fed raises or decreases rates, the majority of credit card APRs in the U.S.No matter when the Fed acts next, any movement is most likely to be small, implying credit card APRs would likely stay raised by historic requirements. And as the chart listed below programs, APRs can differ substantially by card type. Source: LendingTree review of openly readily available terms for about 220 U.S.Naturally, your best relocation is to make those interest rates a moot point by paying your card financial obligation in full, but that's frequently easier stated than done. Simply 2.92% of Americans' exceptional credit card balances were at least 1 month delinquent in the very first quarter of 2026. According to the latest delinquency information from the Fed, the 30-day delinquency rate the share of impressive charge card balances that were at least 1 month past due dipped to 2.92% in the very first quarter of 2026, the seventh straight quarterly decline.