{"id":23010,"date":"2026-04-20T14:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finproshub.com\/?p=23010"},"modified":"2026-04-20T14:41:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:41:21","slug":"average-american-debt-ramsey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finproshub.com\/?p=23010","title":{"rendered":"Average American Debt – Ramsey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wondering just how much debt the average American has? We\u2019ve got you covered! We\u2019re going to look at the average American debt and break it down by age and <\/em>different types of debt, like student loans, mortgages and credit cards.\n <\/p>\n

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Pay off debt fast and save more money with Financial Peace University<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

These numbers may make it look like everyone is drowning in debt, but that\u2019s just not true! Plenty of people are living their best life without owing money to anyone else. So, we\u2019re also going to set the record straight and show you how you <\/em>can become debt-free. Let\u2019s hop in.\n <\/p>\n

How Many Americans Are in Debt?<\/h2>\n

Even though household net worth is on the rise in America (at $156 trillion at the end of 2023)\u2014so is debt.1<\/sup>\u00a0The total personal debt in the U.S. is at an all-time high of $17.5 trillion.2<\/sup>\u00a0The average American debt (per U.S. adult) is $66,772, and 77% of American households have at least some type of debt.<\/strong>3,4,5\u00a0<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

As a reminder, debt is owing any money to anybody for any reason. If you have debt, you\u2019ve most likely agreed on terms of repayment, and those terms mean specific payments at specific time periods until the debt is paid off\u2014typically with interest (the extra cost the lender charges you for borrowing their money).\n <\/p>\n

Some of the most common types of debt in America include credit cards, student loans, auto loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and mortgages. Though Americans of all ages use these debt products, some age groups are more in debt than others\u2014so we\u2019ll look at not only American totals and averages, but also at debt across various age groups.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Average American Debt at a Glance<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s look at the overall totals for American debt and the average debt per household in five categories.\n <\/p>\n

\"image\n <\/p>\n

\"graphic\n <\/p>\n

How Much Debt Does the Average American Have?<\/h2>\n

Credit Card Debt<\/h3>\n

Eight out of 10 adults in America have at least one credit card, and 48% of them carry a balance within a given year (meaning they don\u2019t pay their credit cards down to zero each month, so they have credit card debt).6<\/sup>\u00a0That\u2019s over 100 million people with this kind of debt.7,8<\/sup>\u00a0The average credit card debt per person is $6,501\u2014with the total in America hitting $1.13 trillion.9,10<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

The average APR (annual percentage rate, or interest rate) on credit cards is 22.63%.11<\/sup>\u00a0And those 100 million people with credit card balances pay that interest. Think of it like this: If you multiply 22.63% by the $1.13 trillion Americans owe, that\u2019s about $256 billion that credit card companies will make on interest alone.\n <\/p>\n

\"graphic\n <\/p>\n

Student Loan Debt<\/h3>\n

The total\u00a0student loan debt in America\u00a0is currently at $1.6 trillion, with each borrower owing an average of $38,290 (as of summer 2023).12,13<\/sup>\u00a0The fastest-growing debt in America, student loan debt has doubled since the Great Recession and makes up 9% of the country\u2019s debt total.14<\/sup>\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

Student loan debt for Americans ages 18\u201329 is $340 billion. And for Americans ages 70+, they collectively owe $30 billion\u2014even though student loans only account for around 2% of their debt.15<\/sup>\u00a0(Yes, some 70-year-olds are paying for college\u2014theirs or someone else\u2019s. Let that sink in.)\n <\/p>\n

Young adults say the weight of student loans keeps them from basic financial and life decisions. For example, 44% delay investing in retirement, and 33% put off buying a home. And 14% even wait to get married because of their student loan debt.16<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

\"graphic<\/h3>\n

Auto Loan Debt<\/h3>\n

Total American auto loan debt is $1.60 trillion.17<\/sup>\u00a0About 35% percent of U.S. households (that\u2019s around 44 million) have this kind of debt, with an average of $36,357 per household.18,<\/sup>19,20<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

So, how much are these people paying each month? Well, the average monthly car payment is $738 for new vehicles and $532 for used.21<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

HELOC Debt<\/h3>\n

A\u00a0HELOC\u00a0(home equity line of credit) is a loan that allows you to borrow cash against the current value of your home, using the equity you\u2019ve built up in your home as collateral. In other words, you\u2019re giving up the equity you\u2019ve earned and trading it in for more debt.\n <\/p>\n

There are over 13.1 million HELOCs in the United States, and the total debt across them all is $360 billion. That means the average person with a HELOC owes $27,272.22<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

Older Americans have the highest percentage of HELOC debt. HELOCs take up almost none of the debt held by those ages 18\u201329, and less than 1% of the debt held by those ages 30\u201339, but that percentage rises to nearly 5% for those 70-plus.23<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

Mortgage Debt<\/h3>\n

For most people, housing is their biggest monthly expense. That means they pay a larger percentage of their monthly income to rent or a mortgage than any other budget category (think of categories like utilities, groceries, insurance, etc.).\n <\/p>\n

Americans with a mortgage pay a median monthly payment of $2,006.24<\/sup>\u00a0Accounting for 70% of all American debt, mortgage debt carries the highest total at $12.25 trillion.25<\/sup>\u00a0There are over 84 million outstanding mortgages in our country, and the average balance on each of them is $145,833.26<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

Average American Debt by Age<\/h2>\n

So, we\u2019ve broken out some of the average American debt totals by age already, but here\u2019s an overview of debt totals and averages by age. Note: These averages include all American adults, both those with and without debt\u2014that\u2019s how the data is reported each year.\n <\/p>\n

First, here\u2019s an overview of consumer (or nonmortgage) debt by age.\n <\/p>\n

\"graphic\n <\/p>\n

Now we\u2019ll look at each age group\u2019s total debt broken into percentage by debt type. Notice younger Americans have a higher percentage of student loans, but older Americans have a higher percentage of mortgage debt.\n <\/p>\n

\"graphic\n <\/p>\n

For more information on debt levels across generations, check out\u00a0our\u00a0research study.\n <\/p>\n

The Changing Economy and 2024 Debt<\/h2>\n

You probably don\u2019t need us to tell you that life has gotten a lot more expensive over the last few years. Specifically, the overall inflation rate in the U.S. since 2020 is 19%. (That means, on average, everything now costs 19% more than it did four years ago.)27<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at how much some specific costs have gone up:\n <\/p>\n