Average Credit Card Debt in America: Statistics for 2023

Did you ever think about what’s the average credit card debt in America? According to TransUnion, it is about $7,279 per borrower. How did this happen? Well, a combination of factors has led to an uptick in credit card usage and spending—and a corresponding increase in debt. While some people think we’re more fiscally responsible now than in previous decades, the truth is more complicated. Here is the average credit card debt in America (dollars/percentile):

Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances

Table of Content

Average Interest Rates on New Credit Card Offers in the U.S. in 2023
How Many Americans are Currently Delinquent with Their Credit Card Payments?
What Increases Credit Card Debt?
Average Credit Card Debt by State
Average Credit Card Debt by Age
Average Credit Card Debt by Median Income
Average Credit Card Debt by Race
Average Credit Card Debt by Gender
Average Credit Card Debt by Education
How Can I Reduce Credit Card Debt?

Average Interest Rates on New Credit Card Offers in the U.S. in 2023

The average interest rate on new credit card offers in the U.S. in December 2022 is 16.13%. It is based on Upgrated Points and Federal Reserve’s G.19 consumer credit survey of 100 major banks and credit unions that were asked to provide their interest rates for new consumer credit cards with a minimum $300 credit limit for credit card accounts.

APR is the annual cost of a loan to a borrower — including fees. Like an interest rate, the APR is expressed as a percentage. Unlike an interest rate, however, it includes other charges or fees such as closing costs, discount points, and loan origination fees.

The table presents every category of credit cards that carry different ranges of APR:

Category	Minimum APR	Maximum APR	Average
Average APR for all new card offers	20.10%	27.00%	23.55%
0% balance transfer cards	17.85%	26.83%	22.34%
No-annual-fee cards	19.53%	26.78%	23.16%
Rewards cards	19.89%	27.07%	23.48%
Cashback cards	20.00%	26.83%	23.42%
Travel rewards cards	20.03%	27.69%	23.86%
Airline credit cards	20.24%	28.40%	24.32%
Hotel credit cards	20.67%	28.44%	24.56%
Low-interest credit cards	13.22%	22.78%	18.00%
Grocery rewards cards	19.64%	27.30%	23.47%
Gas rewards cards	20.03%	23.58%	23.47%
Dining rewards cards	19.79%	27.44%	23.61%
Student credit cards	20.30%	26.30%	23.30%
Secured credit cards	26.25%	26.25%	26.25%

Source: Federal Reserve’s G.19

How Many Americans are Currently Delinquent with Their Credit Card Payments?

According to the Federal Reserve, 14.5% of credit card holders are at least 90 days delinquent on their payments. That’s nearly one in seven Americans who aren’t paying their bills on time!

But first: What does it mean to be 90 days late on your average credit card debt payments? In this case, “90 days” refers to how long it’s been since your last payment was made. If you haven’t paid anything toward your outstanding credit card balances in three months or longer (and if you don’t pay something within the next two weeks), you’ll be considered 90 days delinquent.

What Increases Credit Card Debt?

Most credit card debt can be a slippery slope to get into. Once you start using the credit card, it’s easy to keep doing it. But what factors cause people to get into credit card debt?

It’s not uncommon for people to run up their credit cards on things like medical bills, car repairs, or other unexpected expenses. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but sometimes it’s caused by poor financial management practices. These habits can increase your credit card debt:

1. Not paying off your credit card balances in full every month;
2. Making minimum credit card debt payments only;
3. Using credit cards for everyday purchases.

Average Credit Card Debt by State

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, your state’s average credit card debt statistics can tell you a lot about how much debt you carry (as an average household). Here’s a breakdown of the states with the average credit card debt, so you can compare how much credit card debt you have to other states in your area.

Rank	State	Average Credit Card Debt
1	Connecticut	$9,408
2	New York	$9,165
3	New Jersey	$9,044
4	Rhode Island	$8,728
5	Texas	$8,701
6	Florida	$8,573
7	Hawaii	$8,556
8	Maryland	$8,463
9	Massachusetts	$8,405
10	Alaska	$8,185
11	Colorado	$8,011
12	Delaware	$7,993
13	Nevada	$7,905
14	Georgia	$7,790
15	California	$7,758
16	Illinois	$7,756
17	North Dakota	$7,714
18	Virginia	$7,663
19	Maine	$7,518
20	Utah	$7,489
21	New Hampshire	$7,415
22	Vermont	$7,368
23	Washington	$7,365
24	Minnesota	$7,217
25	Arizona	$7,213
26	Wyoming	$7,098
27	South Carolina	$7,063
28	North Carolina	$6,955
28	North Carolina	$6,955
29	Nebraska	$6,900
30	Kansas	$6,762
31	Michigan	$6,744
32	Oregon	$6,682
33	Pennsylvania	$6,620
34	Missouri	$6,599
35	Louisiana	$6,475
36	Alabama	$6,453
37	Oklahoma	$6,401
38	Ohio	$6,394
39	South Dakota	$6,367
40	New Mexico	$6,367
41	Iowa	$6,315
42	Tennessee	$6,240
43	Montana	$6,160
44	Arkansas	$6,117
45	Wisconsin	$6,090
46	Idaho	$6,073
47	Mississippi	$6,035
48	West Virginia	$6,008
49	Indiana	$5,642
50	Kentucky	$5,408

Source: Experian

Average Credit Card Debt by Age

The average credit card debt by age is a number that can be useful when you’re trying to get a grasp on your own finances. According to Experian, here is the situation in the US in 2023:

Generation	Average Credit Card Debt
Generation Z (Born 1997-2012)	$2,589
Millennials (Born 1981-1996)	$5,575
Generation X (Born 1965-1980)	$7,923
Generation X (Born 1965-1980)	$7,923
Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964)	$7,285
Silent Generation (Born 1928-1945)	$5,602

Source: Experian (2022 – 2023)

Average Credit Card Debt by Median Income

The household carries $8,000 in average credit card debt in America. But what if your family has a higher income than the average family? Does that mean you have more money to spend on crucial things like “food” and “rent”? Maybe it does… or maybe not!

The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances shows that there’s not much difference between high-income households and low-income households when it comes to credit card debt.

However, when financial experts compare the average income per percentile group with the average amount of debt held per group, they say that low-income earners have a much larger debt-to-income ratio, with their credit card debt alone accounting for 26.11% of their total income. You can see all the figures in the following table:

Income Percentile	Median Debt	Average Debt	Average Percentage of Income
<20%	$1,100	$3,830	26.11%
20%-39%	$1,900	$4,650	11.98%
40%-59%	$2,400	$4,910	7.33%
60%-79%	$3,600	$6,990	6.45%
80%-89%	$5,000	$9,780	5.95%
90%-100%	$6,000	$12,600	4.31%

Source: The Federal Reserve

Average Credit Card Debt by Race

After analyzing data from the Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2021, which was published in May 2022, we found that the average credit card debt by race is maximum for Black Americans and minimum for Asian Americans:

Race/ethnicity	% carrying a balance (among cardholders)
White, non-Hispanic	42%
Black	72%
Hispanic	63%
Asian	24%

Source: Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2021 – May 2022

Average Credit Card Debt by Gender

If you’re like most Americans, your credit card debt is probably somewhere between “a little too high” and “definitely too high.” And while it’s easy to get into debt, it can be hard to find a way out.

In the table below are the numbers of how much average credit card debt women have compared to men. As you see, the figures are almost the same. But, considering the fact that women have slightly lower incomes compared to men, they have a higher debt-to-income ratio.

Women	Men
$6,232	$6,357

Source: Experian (2022 – 2023)

Average Credit Card Debt by Education

If you’re just getting started with your credit card debt, it’s important to know what the average credit card debt is for people with different levels of education. It can be a great way to get a sense of where you stand in comparison to other people who are also trying to get out of debt.

Here are some of the numbers for 2023:

Education	Median Debt	Average Debt	Average Percentage of Income
No High School Diploma	$1,200	$3,390	10.41%
High School Graduate	$2,000	$4,940	11.74%
Some College	$2,700	$6,210	13.28%
College Graduate	$3,600	$7,940	9.91%

Source: The Federal Reserve Bank – Survey of Consumer Finances

How Can I Reduce Credit Card Debt?

Even if it’s average, credit card debt is a huge problem for many people. It can be hard to know where to begin when it comes to reducing your average credit card debt. If you have more than one credit card balance, or if you have any other type of debt, then you may want to start by putting all of that credit card debt together in one place so that you can see exactly how much money you owe and what kind of interest rates those loans have.

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to create a plan for paying off those loans. You want to set up a realistic timeline that will allow you to pay off all of your credit card debt in three years or less but not longer than five years. If this seems too long, consider making extra payments on top of what’s due each month and/or increasing your monthly payments over time.

You may want to consider consolidating your credit card debt into one loan with a lower interest rate before starting this process. That way, once everything’s paid off, your payments will be lower than before and hopefully more manageable too!

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