Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding
Credit card balances owed by U.S. consumers
Where the Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding stands now
The Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding was $1.26 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, down from the $1.28 trillion peak in the fourth quarter of 2025. It has been higher than a year earlier for 19 quarters in a row.
What it means for households: Credit Card Default Statistics Behind on payments? Your Rights with Debt Collectors
How the Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding has moved since 2003
Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding: up since 2021, near the highest in data back to 2003
U.S. credit card balances, New York Fed, billions of dollars: $1.26 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, up from $1.21 trillion a year earlier. Quarterly, 2003–2026.
What the Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding measures
Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding by quarter, 2003 to 2026
| Quarter | Amount | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $1.26T | +$0.05T |
| Q1 2026 | $1.24T | +$0.06T |
| Q4 2025 | $1.28T | +$0.07T |
| Q3 2025 | $1.23T | +$0.06T |
| Q2 2025 | $1.21T | +$0.07T |
| Q1 2025 | $1.18T | +$0.06T |
| Q4 2024 | $1.21T | +$0.08T |
| Q3 2024 | $1.17T | +$0.09T |
| Q2 2024 | $1.14T | +$0.11T |
| Q1 2024 | $1.12T | +$129B |
| Q4 2023 | $1.13T | +$143B |
| Q3 2023 | $1.08T | +$154B |
| Q2 2023 | $1.03T | +$144B |
| Q1 2023 | $986B | +$145B |
| Q4 2022 | $986B | +$130B |
| Q3 2022 | $925B | +$121B |
| Q2 2022 | $887B | +$100B |
| Q1 2022 | $841B | +$71B |
| Q4 2021 | $856B | +$37B |
| Q3 2021 | $804B | −$3B |
| Q2 2021 | $787B | −$30B |
| Q1 2021 | $770B | −$123B |
| Q4 2020 | $819B | −$108B |
| Q3 2020 | $807B | −$74B |
| Q2 2020 | $817B | −$51B |
| Q1 2020 | $893B | +$45B |
| Q4 2019 | $927B | +$57B |
| Q3 2019 | $881B | +$37B |
| Q2 2019 | $868B | +$39B |
| Q1 2019 | $848B | +$33B |
| Q4 2018 | $870B | +$36B |
| Q3 2018 | $844B | +$36B |
| Q2 2018 | $829B | +$45B |
| Q1 2018 | $815B | +$51B |
| Q4 2017 | $834B | +$55B |
| Q3 2017 | $808B | +$61B |
| Q2 2017 | $784B | +$55B |
| Q1 2017 | $764B | +$52B |
| Q4 2016 | $779B | +$46B |
| Q3 2016 | $747B | +$33B |
| Q2 2016 | $729B | +$26B |
| Q1 2016 | $712B | +$28B |
| Q4 2015 | $733B | +$33B |
| Q3 2015 | $714B | +$34B |
| Q2 2015 | $703B | +$34B |
| Q1 2015 | $684B | +$25B |
| Q4 2014 | $700B | +$17B |
| Q3 2014 | $680B | +$8B |
| Q2 2014 | $669B | +$1B |
| Q1 2014 | $659B | −$1B |
| Q4 2013 | $683B | +$4B |
| Q3 2013 | $672B | −$2B |
| Q2 2013 | $668B | −$4B |
| Q1 2013 | $660B | −$18.8B |
| Q4 2012 | $679B | −$25B |
| Q3 2012 | $674B | −$19.3B |
| Q2 2012 | $672B | −$22.3B |
| Q1 2012 | $678.8B | −$17.6B |
| Q4 2011 | $704B | −$25.6B |
| Q3 2011 | $693.3B | −$37.8B |
| Q2 2011 | $694.3B | −$50.1B |
| Q1 2011 | $696.4B | −$66B |
| Q4 2010 | $729.6B | −$65.4B |
| Q3 2010 | $731.1B | −$80.9B |
| Q2 2010 | $744.4B | −$79.6B |
| Q1 2010 | $762.4B | −$80.6B |
| Q4 2009 | $795B | −$71B |
| Q3 2009 | $812B | −$46B |
| Q2 2009 | $824B | −$26B |
| Q1 2009 | $843B | +$6B |
| Q4 2008 | $866B | +$27B |
| Q3 2008 | $858B | +$41B |
| Q2 2008 | $850B | +$54B |
| Q1 2008 | $837B | +$73B |
| Q4 2007 | $839B | +$72B |
| Q3 2007 | $817B | +$63B |
| Q2 2007 | $796B | +$57B |
| Q1 2007 | $764B | +$41B |
| Q4 2006 | $767B | +$31B |
| Q3 2006 | $754B | +$22B |
| Q2 2006 | $739B | +$22B |
| Q1 2006 | $723B | +$13B |
| Q4 2005 | $736B | +$19B |
| Q3 2005 | $732B | +$26B |
| Q2 2005 | $717B | +$20B |
| Q1 2005 | $710B | +$15B |
| Q4 2004 | $717B | +$19B |
| Q3 2004 | $706B | +$13B |
| Q2 2004 | $697B | +$4B |
| Q1 2004 | $695B | +$7B |
| Q4 2003 | $698B | — |
| Q3 2003 | $693B | — |
| Q2 2003 | $693B | — |
| Q1 2003 | $688B | — |
Quarterly · New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax
Counties with the highest safety net and buffer scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the safety net and buffer part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choctaw County, OK | 94.8 |
| 2 | Stewart County, GA | 94.2 |
| 3 | Noxubee County, MS | 94.2 |
| 4 | Hudspeth County, TX | 94 |
| 5 | Brooks County, TX | 94 |
| 6 | Lake County, TN | 94 |
| 7 | Duval County, TX | 93.9 |
| 8 | Ripley County, MO | 93.5 |
| 9 | Dunklin County, MO | 93.3 |
| 10 | Quitman County, GA | 93.2 |
Questions about the Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding
How much credit card debt do Americans owe?
Americans owed $1.26 trillion on credit cards in the second quarter of 2026, according to the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report, up $54 billion from a year earlier.
How fast is credit card debt growing?
In the latest quarter balances were 4.5% higher than a year earlier, an increase of $54 billion. They have been higher than a year earlier for 19 quarters in a row.
What does it cost to carry a card balance?
The average interest rate on credit card accounts is tracked on our credit card interest rate page, from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Interest is charged on the balance you carry past the due date, so a balance paid in full each month costs nothing in interest.
How much of credit card debt is delinquent?
At commercial banks, 2.85% of credit card balances were 30 or more days past due in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve. Across all household debt, the New York Fed counts 4.73% of balances as delinquent in the second quarter of 2026.
Where does the credit card debt data come from?
The New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, built from a nationally representative sample of Equifax consumer credit reports. It comes out about six weeks after each quarter ends.
Sources and method for the Total Credit Card Debt Outstanding
- New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax We use the quarterly figures as published, from the first quarter of 2003 through the second quarter of 2026, with no adjustment of our own. Federal Reserve Bank of New York doesn’t adjust this amount for the season, so compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier. Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s report
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.