The average amount of credit card debt per person varies depending on age, race, income and location. MoneyGeek analyzed key credit card debt statistics to explore the state of debt in the U.S. and understand the factors associated with credit card debt.
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Key Findings
- There were 532 million credit card accounts in the U.S in Q4 2021, up 5% — or 26 million — since Q4 2020.
- Credit card debt totaled $860 billion in Q4 2021, still down from $893 billion in Q1 2020 — the last quarter before the pandemic — but up $40 billion from Q4 2020.
- The average cardholder had $5,934 in credit card debt in Q4 2021.
- Individuals 75 or older had the most average credit card debt ($8,100), and those under 35 had the least ($3,700).
- Alaska had the highest average credit card debt at $6,617 per person; Iowa had the lowest at $4,289.
- Americans in the 60th to 79.9th annual income percentile were most likely to carry debt (57%); those below the 20th percentile were the least likely (30%).
- White Americans had the highest average debt per person of any racial group ($6,900), while Black and African American cardholders had the lowest ($3,900).
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Credit Card Debt Trends
While credit card debt decreased substantially during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, overall debt increased by $40 billion from Q4 2020 to Q4 2021, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
However, the debt that the average credit cardholder held didn’t increase substantially during this period. In Q4 2021, the average credit cardholder in the U.S. had $5,934 in credit card debt in Q4 2021 — about 0.6% less than Q4 2020’s $5,968 average. During this same period, Americans opened 26 million more credit card accounts.
Debt per capita was nearly $56,000 during Q4 2021, about $3,000 higher than the $53,000 reported in Q4 2020. In comparison, the total debt per capita was around $52,000 in Q1 2020, the last quarter before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Average Credit Card Debt by Age
Credit card debt tends to vary by age. MoneyGeek’s analysis of data from the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances found that, on average, older adults have more credit card debt than younger adults.
Data showed that people 35 or younger have the lowest average credit card debt at $3,700. Around 48% of individuals in this age group carry debt.
Adults 75 or older have the highest average credit card debt at $8,100, but just 28% of people in this age group have debt.
Meanwhile, 52% of Americans 45–54 years old have credit card debt, making them the age group most likely to carry it. The average credit card debt for this age group is $7,700.
Related: Balance transfer credit card vs. Debt consolidation
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Average Credit Card Debt by State and Region
How much credit card debt the average American has is impacted by where they live.
In Q3 2020, an Experian analysis found that people living in Alaska had the highest average credit card balance at $6,617 per person. The states where people had the next highest debts were Connecticut ($6,040), Virginia ($5,992), New Jersey ($5,978), Maryland ($5,977), Texas ($5,848), Georgia ($5,693), District of Columbia ($5,671), Florida ($5,623) and Hawaii ($5,614).
The state with the lowest average credit card debt is Iowa with $4,289. The states with the next-lowest average credit card debts were Wisconsin ($4,376), Kentucky ($4,521), Idaho ($4,582), Mississippi ($4,587), South Dakota ($4,633), Indiana ($4,651), Vermont ($4,653), Maine ($4,676) and Oregon ($4,681).
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Alabama
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,047
Image Credit: James Deitsch.
Alaska
Average Credit Card Debt: $6,617
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Arizona
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,157
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Arkansas
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,791
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California
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,120
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Colorado
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,541
Image Credit: Jacob Boomsma / istockphoto.
Connecticut
Average Credit Card Debt: $6,040
Image Credit: traveler1116.
Delaware
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,462
Image Credit: mdgmorris.
District of Columbia
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,671
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Florida
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,623
Image Credit: Elisa.rolle.
Georgia
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,693
Image Credit: SeanPavonePhoto.
Hawaii
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,614
Image Credit: Art Wager.
Idaho
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,582
Image Credit: knowlesgallery.
Illinois
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,365
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Indiana
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,651
Image Credit: f11photo.
Iowa
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,289
Image Credit: JoeChristensen.
Kansas
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,063
Image Credit: Michael Pham.
Kentucky
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,521
Image Credit: Thomas Kelley.
Louisiana
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,127
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
Maine
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,676
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Maryland
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,977
Image Credit: James_Lane.
Massachusetts
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,141
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Michigan
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,692
Image Credit: haveseen.
Minnesota
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,767
Image Credit: JoeChristensen.
Mississippi
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,587
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Missouri
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,950
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Montana
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,785
Image Credit: YinYang.
Nebraska
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,819
Image Credit: marekuliasz.
Nevada
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,422
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New Hampshire
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,327
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
New Jersey
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,978
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New Mexico
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,948
Image Credit: Davel5957.
New York
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,414
Image Credit: Boogich.
North Carolina
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,121
Image Credit: ” Darwin Brandis”.
North Dakota
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,865
Image Credit: sequential5.
Ohio
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,888
Image Credit: dypics.
Oklahoma
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,271
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Oregon
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,681
Image Credit: HaizhanZheng.
Pennsylvania
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,080
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Rhode Island
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,256
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South Carolina
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,310
Image Credit: SeanPavonePhoto.
South Dakota
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,633
Image Credit: RiverNorthPhotography.
Tennessee
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,006
Image Credit: Swarmcatcher.
Texas
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,848
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
Utah
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,900
Image Credit: ” 4kodiak”.
Vermont
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,653
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
Virginia
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,992
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
Washington
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,238
Image Credit: 4nadia.
West Virginia
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,686
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Wisconsin
Average Credit Card Debt: $4,376
Image Credit: FierceAbin.
Wyoming
Average Credit Card Debt: $5,182
Image Credit: AnujSahaiPhotography.
Credit Card Debt by Income
By analyzing data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, MoneyGeek found that credit card debts and balances vary by household income.
Generally, households with higher incomes tend to have higher credit card debts. For instance, households in the highest income percentile — 90th to 100th — have an average of $12,600 of credit card debt. That’s more than three times more than the income bracket with the lowest average debt. Those with the lowest annual income percentile — less than the 20th — had the lowest average credit card debt ($3,800).
Americans in the 60th to 79.9th annual income percentile were most likely to carry debt; approximately 57% of individuals in this income bracket had credit card debt.
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Credit Card Debt by Race & Ethnicity
U.S. residents identifying themselves as white (non-Hispanics) reported an average of $6,900 credit debt, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. This group had the highest average credit card balance of any surveyed.
Black and African American, non-Hispanic cardholders recorded the lowest amount of credit card debt at an average of $3,900 per cardholder.
Hispanic and Latino cardholders had an average of $5,500 credit card debt per person during the same period.
Those who identified with a race outside those mentioned above or as multiple races averaged $6,300 of credit card debt.
Hispanics and Latino cardholders had the highest percentage of individuals with debt at 50%. Those who identified as other or multiple races had the lowest rate of individuals who carried debt at 44%.
This article originally appeared on Moneygeek.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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