Americans continue to rack up debt, owing $1.21 trillion on their credit cards as of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
This represented a $45 billion jump from the third quarter of 2024 and an $82 billion, or 7.3%, increase year-over-year, the bank, known in shorthand as the New York Fed, said in a report.
Credit card debt first passed the trillion-dollar mark in 2023. Credit card loan accounts, numbering over 600 million, are the most common type.
“Stubborn inflation has shrunk a lot of Americans’ financial margin for error from slim to about none, forcing people to lean more heavily on credit card debt,” Matt Schulz, Lending Tree chief credit analyst, told CNBC.
Credit cards are an expensive way to borrow money, with the average interest rate on a new card at over 20%, according to CNBC.
Overall, Americans owe over $18 trillion, the New York Fed said in a release Thursday. Of that debt, $12.6 trillion involves mortgages, $1.65 trillion is in automotive, $1.61 trillion is connected to student loans and $1.21 trillion is with credit cards. The remainder is from home equity lines of credit and other forms of debt.
Of those categories, mortgage debt grew the most year over year. While the $12.6 trillion owed rose $11 billion from the third quarter of 2024, the amount of mortgage debt nationwide rose $353 billion since the fourth quarter of 2023.
Debt delinquency also remains a concern. Over 7% of all American credit card debt became seriously delinquent in the fourth quarter of 2024, meaning that payments on that debt were overdue by 90 or more days. About 1.09% of all mortgage debt and nearly 3% of automotive debt became seriously delinquent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Over 10% of all American credit card debt and just under 5% of all mortgage debt is seriously delinquent, according to the report. About 3.6% of all American debt is overdue, including debt less than 90 days and more than 90 days overdue.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.