US Household Debt Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Sarah Davis | Last updated: October 6, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
US household debt stood at $18.771 trillion at the end of June 2026, according to the New York Fed. But the Axis Intelligence Research Household Debt Strain Index (HDSI) reads 94.59, meaning the combined burden of debt payments and bank delinquencies is lower than it was in mid-2019, before the pandemic.
Quick Answer
Total US household debt was $18.771 trillion in Q2 2026, down $13 billion on the quarter and up $383 billion on the year (New York Fed). Households spend 11.11% of disposable income on debt payments (Federal Reserve). According to Axis Intelligence Research, the HDSI stands at 94.59 (2019 Q2 = 100), below the pre-pandemic baseline.
Key Findings
- According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, US household debt totaled $18.771 trillion in Q2 2026, $4.6 trillion above its end-2019 level.
- Axis Intelligence Research finds the Household Debt Strain Index (HDSI) at 94.59 in Q2 2026, below its 2019 Q2 baseline of 100 and far under the 138.66 reading it computes for Q4 2007.
- Axis Intelligence Research estimates that mortgages generate about 39.7% of the dollars flowing into serious delinquency, despite carrying the lowest flow rate of any major product at 1.52%.
- The New York Fed reports that the share of credit card balances 90+ days delinquent rose from 7.6% in Q3 2022 to 12.8% in Q1 2026, a rise its economists attribute mainly to charged-off debt being reported for longer.
- Axis Intelligence Research finds that unsecured credit is the pressure point: the HDSI credit card delinquency sub-index reads 110.04 and the other consumer sub-index 109.91, both above 2019.
How Much Household Debt Do Americans Have in 2026?
The New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, built from anonymized Equifax credit reports, put total US household debt at $18.771 trillion at the end of June 2026. That is $13 billion less than the $18.784 trillion recorded in Q1 2026.
Do not read too much into the dip. The Q2 2026 report says the $74 billion fall in mortgage balances was mostly a servicer transfer gap in reporting; without it, mortgage balances would have stayed flat. Non-housing debt still grew by $48 billion in the quarter.
Year on year, balances rose $383 billion. Axis Intelligence Research calculates that as 2.08% annual growth (383 ÷ (18,771 − 383)).
US Household Debt by Type, Q2 2026
| Debt type | Balance (Q2 2026) | Quarterly change | Annual change | Share of total* | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | $13.117T | −$74B | +$182B | 69.9% | NY Fed |
| Auto loans | $1.713T | +$28B | +$58B | 9.1% | NY Fed |
| Student loans | $1.651T | −$7B | +$13B | 8.8% | NY Fed |
| Credit cards | $1.263T | +$21B | +$54B | 6.7% | NY Fed |
| Other (retail, consumer finance) | $0.568T | +$6B | +$28B | 3.0% | NY Fed |
| HELOC | $0.459T | +$13B | +$48B | 2.4% | NY Fed |
| Total | $18.771T | −$13B | +$383B | 100% | NY Fed |
*Shares are Axis Intelligence Research calculations (balance ÷ $18,771B).
Housing debt, mortgages plus HELOCs, makes up 72.3% of what households owe. The other $5,195 billion, student loans, auto loans, cards and other credit, is the part that tends to break first when paychecks stop.
Sarah Davis: $18.8 trillion is a balance, not a bill. What a household actually pays is the debt service, and that is where the money tells a calmer story: payments take a smaller slice of income than in 2019, and a far smaller one than in 2007. The cost has not disappeared. It has moved to the revolving line, where the rate is highest, and the rest of this page follows it there.
Is Household Debt a Problem? The Axis Household Debt Strain Index
A record balance and a record burden are not the same thing. Incomes have grown too, and most mortgage debt carries fixed rates. To measure strain rather than size, Axis Intelligence Research built the Household Debt Strain Index (HDSI).
What the HDSI measures: how heavy household debt is to carry right now, relative to Q2 2019 (= 100). Above 100 means more strain than the pre-pandemic baseline; below 100 means less.
Formula (all inputs public, seasonally adjusted):
HDSI = 100 × [0.40 × (DSR ÷ 11.63) + 0.25 × (bank residential delinquency ÷ 2.60) + 0.20 × (bank credit card delinquency ÷ 2.59) + 0.15 × (bank other consumer delinquency ÷ 2.12)]
The debt service ratio (DSR) comes from the Federal Reserve Board’s DSR release; the three delinquency rates (30+ days past due, at commercial banks) come from the Fed’s charge-off and delinquency release. The denominators are each series’ Q2 2019 value. Payment capacity gets the largest weight because it is the variable that decides whether a balance becomes a problem.
HDSI Readings
| Quarter | HDSI | Debt service ratio | Card delinquency (banks) | Residential delinquency (banks) | Other consumer delinquency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2007 | 138.66 | 15.85% | 4.60% | 3.10% | 2.66% |
| Q2 2019 (base) | 100.00 | 11.63% | 2.59% | 2.60% | 2.12% |
| Q2 2025 | 95.68 | 11.12% | 3.04% | 1.78% | 2.38% |
| Q1 2026 | 95.06 | 11.16% | 2.91% | 1.88% | 2.28% |
| Q2 2026 | 94.59 | 11.11% | 2.85% | 1.86% | 2.33% |
Source: Axis Intelligence Research calculation on Federal Reserve Board data (DSR release September 22, 2026; delinquency release updated August 25, 2026).
According to Axis Intelligence Research, the HDSI fell from 95.68 in Q2 2025 to 94.59 in Q2 2026. The Q4 2007 reading of 138.66 is computed on the same formula from the same Fed series and shows what the index looked like going into the financial crisis.
Which Parts of Household Debt Are Under Pressure?
The headline hides a split. Here are the Q2 2026 component sub-indices (each component ÷ its 2019 Q2 value × 100):
| Component | Sub-index Q2 2026 | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Debt service ratio | 95.53 | Below 2019 |
| Residential mortgage delinquency | 71.54 | Well below 2019 |
| Credit card delinquency | 110.04 | Above 2019 |
| Other consumer delinquency | 109.91 | Above 2019 |
Source: Axis Intelligence Research.
Axis Intelligence Research finds that mortgage performance does almost all the work of pulling the index below 100. Unsecured credit, cards and consumer loans, is running above its 2019 level. A household with a low fixed-rate mortgage and no card balance is having a very different 2026 from a renter carrying revolving debt.
Sarah Davis: If you want one sentence to take away: the average household is fine, the revolving borrower is not. The data never says “everyone is drowning” and it never says “everyone is fine.” It says the stress lives in the card statement.
How Much of Their Income Do Americans Spend on Debt Payments?
The Federal Reserve Board estimates that required household debt payments equaled 11.11% of disposable personal income in Q2 2026, split between 5.83% for mortgages and 5.28% for consumer debt. The ratio peaked at 11.32% in Q4 2025 in recent data and stood at 15.85% in Q4 2007.
| Quarter | Total DSR | Mortgage DSR | Consumer DSR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2007 | 15.85% | 8.95% | 6.89% |
| Q2 2019 | 11.63% | 5.93% | 5.69% |
| Q2 2025 | 11.12% | 5.83% | 5.30% |
| Q4 2025 | 11.32% | 5.92% | 5.40% |
| Q1 2026 | 11.16% | 5.87% | 5.29% |
| Q2 2026 | 11.11% | 5.83% | 5.28% |
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Household Debt Service Ratios (credit-bureau based methodology), released September 22, 2026.
Household Debt Delinquency Rates in 2026
According to the New York Fed, 4.7% of outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency at the end of Q2 2026, down 0.1 percentage point from Q1. The annualized flow of balances into serious delinquency (90+ days) fell to 2.57% from 2.91% a year earlier.
Flow Into Serious Delinquency by Loan Type
| Loan type | Q2 2025 | Q2 2026 | Direction | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student loans | 12.88% | 7.83% | Lower | NY Fed |
| Credit cards | 6.93% | 6.97% | Flat | NY Fed |
| Other | 5.42% | 5.19% | Lower | NY Fed |
| Auto loans | 2.93% | 3.00% | Higher | NY Fed |
| Mortgages | 1.29% | 1.52% | Higher | NY Fed |
| HELOC | 1.15% | 1.15% | Flat | NY Fed |
| All debt | 2.91% | 2.57% | Lower | NY Fed |
Rates are annualized shares of balances transitioning into 90+ day delinquency.
The student loan figure needs a caution flag. The New York Fed says re-reporting of defaulted federal student debt continues to distort the series. On a stock basis, 10.6% of student loan balances were 90+ days past due in Q2 2026, up from 10.3% in Q1.
Where Do Delinquent Dollars Actually Come From?
Rates tell you how likely a dollar is to go bad. They do not tell you where the bad dollars pile up. Axis Intelligence Research multiplied each product’s Q2 2026 balance by its flow rate to estimate the annualized dollars entering serious delinquency.
Formula: estimated dollars entering 90+ = Q2 2026 balance × Q2 2026 flow rate. This is an upper-bound approximation, because the New York Fed’s denominator is the prior quarter’s not-yet-seriously-delinquent balance, which is smaller than the total balance.
| Loan type | Est. annualized $ entering 90+ | Share of delinquent flow | Share of total debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | $199.4B | 39.7% | 69.9% |
| Student loans | $129.3B | 25.7% | 8.8% |
| Credit cards | $88.0B | 17.5% | 6.7% |
| Auto loans | $51.4B | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| Other | $29.5B | 5.9% | 3.0% |
| HELOC | $5.3B | 1.0% | 2.4% |
| Sum | $502.8B | 100% |
Source: Axis Intelligence Research estimate on NY Fed Q2 2026 data. Cross-check: total balance × the all-debt rate (18,771 × 2.57%) gives $482.4B; the gap reflects product-mix rounding and the denominator approximation.
Axis Intelligence Research estimates that credit cards produce 17.5% of new serious delinquency on just 6.7% of the debt, and student loans 25.7% on 8.8%. Mortgages are the reverse: the safest dollar, but so many dollars that they still lead the flow.
Bankruptcies, Foreclosures and Collections
| Indicator | Q2 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers with a new bankruptcy notation | About 137,000 | NY Fed Q2 2026 report |
| Consumers with a new foreclosure | About 55,000 | NY Fed |
| Share of consumers with a third-party collection | 4.9% | NY Fed |
Is Credit Card Delinquency Really at Crisis Levels?
This is the most misread chart in household finance this year. On the New York Fed’s stock measure, the share of card balances 90+ days late climbed from 7.6% in Q3 2022 to 12.8% in Q1 2026, the kind of line that gets shared as proof of a coming crash.
New York Fed economists took that line apart in an August 2026 Liberty Street Economics analysis. Their finding: the rise comes almost entirely from charged-off balances that lenders keep reporting to credit bureaus. Between 2004 and 2012 only about 40% of charged-off card debt was still being reported a year later; by 2024 that share had doubled to 80%. Strip charged-off debt out and the stock rate falls in line with the flow rate and with bank-reported delinquency, both of which have been roughly stable since 2024.
Bank data agrees. The Fed’s commercial-bank card delinquency rate eased to 2.85% in Q2 2026 from 3.04% a year earlier (Federal Reserve).
That does not make the stale debt harmless. The same analysis counts more than 23 million Americans still carrying charged-off card balances on their credit reports, a drag on their scores and their access to credit. For the effect on scores, see our credit score statistics.
Sarah Davis: Two things are true at once. New card delinquencies are elevated but stable, which is not a crisis. And tens of millions of people are walking around with an old charge-off on their file, which is a quieter, longer problem. If you are one of them, the charge-off is not the end of your credit; it is a line that ages.
What Does Credit Card Debt Cost in 2026?
The Fed’s G.19 release puts the average commercial-bank credit card rate at 22.15% on accounts assessed interest and 20.94% across all accounts as of May 2026 (Federal Reserve G.19). Card limits rose by $85 billion, per the New York Fed, so available credit keeps expanding faster than balances.
For how businesses use cards, see our business credit card statistics.
Fed Board vs NY Fed: Why Household Debt Numbers Disagree
Two Federal Reserve sources measure overlapping debt and do not match. Axis Intelligence Research publishes the gaps instead of averaging them:
| Measure | NY Fed (credit reports) | Fed Board G.19 | Gap | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit cards / revolving, Q2 2026 | $1,263B | $1,354.4B (revolving, SA) | $91.4B | G.19 revolving covers more than bank cards and uses lender data |
| Student loans, Q2 2026 | $1,651B | $1,858.2B | $207.2B | Different coverage and reporting of federal loans |
Total consumer credit in G.19 was $5,168.1 billion (SA) at the end of Q2 2026, growing at a 2.9% annual rate in the quarter and 4.2% in July (G.19). Use the NY Fed for borrower-level composition and delinquency; use G.19 for lender-side totals and rates. For the corporate side of US credit, see our US corporate debt statistics.
Mortgage and Auto Lending: Who Is Still Borrowing?
New mortgage originations held at $505 billion in Q2 2026, and auto originations picked up to $211 billion (NY Fed). The median credit score on new auto loans fell by seven points in the quarter, a sign that lenders are reaching further down the score range. HELOC balances rose again and sit $142 billion above their Q1 2022 low; HELOC limits rose $19 billion. Homeowners locked into low first-mortgage rates are tapping equity on a second line instead of refinancing.
FAQ
Is US household debt at a record high in 2026?
Total nominal household debt was $18.771 trillion in Q2 2026, just below the Q1 2026 level of $18.784 trillion, according to the New York Fed. The burden is not at a record: debt payments take 11.11% of disposable income, below the 15.85% of Q4 2007.
What share of household debt is mortgage debt?
Mortgages account for 69.9% of US household debt as of Q2 2026, and mortgages plus HELOCs for 72.3%, according to Axis Intelligence Research calculations on New York Fed data.
Are Americans falling behind on credit card payments?
New card delinquencies are elevated but flat: 6.97% of balances flowed into 90+ day delinquency in Q2 2026 versus 6.93% a year earlier. The higher 12.8% stock figure is inflated by charged-off debt reported for longer, per New York Fed research.
What is the Household Debt Strain Index (HDSI)?
The HDSI is an Axis Intelligence Research index combining the Fed’s debt service ratio and three bank delinquency rates, scaled so Q2 2019 = 100. It read 94.59 in Q2 2026, meaning less strain than before the pandemic.
Which type of household debt has the highest delinquency?
Student loans: 10.6% of balances were 90+ days delinquent in Q2 2026, and 7.83% flowed into serious delinquency over the year, though re-reporting of defaulted federal loans distorts the series.
How much of their income do US households spend on debt?
11.11% of disposable personal income in Q2 2026: 5.83% on mortgages and 5.28% on consumer debt, per the Federal Reserve Board.
Why is the stale debt problem important if new delinquencies are stable?
More than 23 million Americans still carry charged-off card balances on their credit reports. Lenders now report about 80% of charged-off debt a year later, versus about 40% in 2004 to 2012, so old defaults linger on files longer.
When is the next household debt data release?
The New York Fed publishes its Household Debt and Credit Report quarterly; Q3 2026 data covers balances through September 2026. This page updates when it is released.
Methodology
Data collection. All figures were retrieved on October 6, 2026 from five primary releases: the New York Fed Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (Q2 2026 press release and full PDF), the New York Fed Liberty Street Economics analysis of August 11, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board Household Debt Service Ratios (September 22, 2026), the Board’s Charge-Off and Delinquency Rates release (updated August 25, 2026), and the Board’s G.19 Consumer Credit release (September 8, 2026).
HDSI construction. Four seasonally adjusted Federal Reserve Board series are each divided by their Q2 2019 value, weighted 40/25/20/15 (debt service ratio, residential, credit card and other consumer delinquency), summed and multiplied by 100. Q2 2019 was chosen as the last full pre-pandemic quarter unaffected by forbearance. The weights are Axis Intelligence Research’s judgment and are published so anyone can recompute the index or substitute their own.
What we chose not to combine. We considered adding NY Fed flow rates to the HDSI and declined: they are measured on credit-bureau balances while the bank rates use balance-sheet loans, so mixing them would double count card stress. That declined calculation is logged in the CSV as a retracted row.
Scope. Bank delinquency rates cover insured commercial banks, not credit unions or finance companies. The dollar-flow estimate overstates the true flow because it uses total rather than prior-quarter non-delinquent balances. Student loan delinquency series remain affected by default re-reporting. Figures are nominal.
About This Dataset
The CSV contains 133 rows covering balances by debt type, delinquency flows, debt service ratios, bank delinquency rates, consumer credit totals, HDSI readings and components, and Axis estimates. Each row carries its source, URL, as-of date and retrieval date. Axis-calculated rows are flagged with the formula in method_note.
- File: household-debt-statistics-2026.csv
- License: CC BY 4.0
- Mirrors: Hugging Face, Kaggle, GitHub
Cite This Page
APA: Axis Intelligence Research. (2026). Household debt statistics 2026. Axis Intelligence. https://axis-intelligence.com/household-debt-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research. “Household Debt Statistics 2026.” Axis Intelligence, 6 Oct. 2026, axis-intelligence.com/household-debt-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research. “Household Debt Statistics 2026.” Axis Intelligence, October 6, 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/household-debt-statistics/.