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Read our editorial standards here. Americans have a record amount of credit card financial obligation $1.252 trillion, to be precise. This charge card financial obligation data page tracks Americans' credit card utilize every month. We upgrade this page frequently, taking a look at just how much debt customers hold, how often they bring balances from month to month, how often they pay their credit card expenses late and other crucial patterns.

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While credit card financial obligation tends to rise year over year, it normally falls from Q4 of one year to Q1 of the next. Even with this quarter's reduction, credit card balances have increased by $482 billion because Q1 2021, when credit card debt bottomed out at $770 billion during the pandemic.

Americans' credit card debt is $325 billion greater than the pre-pandemic record embeded in Q4 2019, when balances stood at $927 billion. (That's a 35% increase.) Charge card balances have historically rebounded after first-quarter decreases, though future borrowing patterns will depend upon elements consisting of rates of interest, inflation and broader financial conditions.

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Charge card debt increased steadily till the monetary crisis, then declined from $866 billion in Q4 2008 to $660 billion in Q1 2013 before resuming its upward trajectory. Then, when the pandemic took hold in 2020, charge card balances plunged again from $927 billion in Q4 2019 to $770 billion in Q1 2021.

Credit cardholders in Connecticut have the greatest average charge card debt of any state, according to LendingTree data, while those in Mississippi have the most affordable. Source: LendingTree analysis of the anonymized credit reports of more than 400,000 LendingTree users in the third quarter of 2025 and more than 410,000 in Q3 2024.

Joint accounts were divided in half to show shared duty between the account holders. LendingTree analysts examined anonymized credit report data from Q3 2025 for more than 400,000 LendingTree users to compute these averages and develop a list of states with the most financial obligation. The analysis was also compared to Q3 2024 information from more than 410,000 reports.

Eleven states had typical balances of at least $9,000. Washington has the fastest-growing card debt in the period evaluated.

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3 other states saw double-digit boosts, consisting of South Dakota (up 11.7%), Nebraska (up 11.3%) and Wisconsin (up 10.2%). New Mexico saw the biggest year-over-year decrease in debt, with its residents' debt falling 10.3% from $6,543 to $5,871. In all, 7 states saw credit card balances reduce in the previous year.

Less than half of adult credit cardholders (45%) carried a balance on a credit card for at least one month in the previous year, according to a May 2026 Federal Reserve research study utilizing 2025 data. Paying a charge card balance completely each month is the most effective method to avoid interest charges and keep financial obligation from collecting.

For all credit cards, the typical APR in Q2 2026 was 20.94%. For cards accruing interest, the average in Q2 2026 was 22.15%. For brand-new credit card uses, the average is 23.79%. Typical APR, existing card accounts: 20.94% Average APR, accounts that accrue interest: 22.15% Average APR, new charge card uses: 23.79% The Federal Reserve's G. 19 consumer credit report showed that the typical APRs for cards accruing interest increased to 22.15% in Q2 2026, up from 21.52% in Q1 2026.

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Consumers opening a new credit card account might face greater rates than the averages for existing accounts. The current LendingTree data on charge card APRs shows that the average APR with a brand-new credit card offer is 23.79%, with the average card providing an APR series of 20.18% to 27.41%.

The 23.79% average was the same for the second straight month and third in 4. It's the first time because LendingTree started tracking card rates regular monthly that they went unchanged in back-to-back months. That stability is most likely the outcome of the Fed leaving rates the same throughout 2026. When the Fed raises or decreases rates, many charge card APRs in the U.S.No matter when the Fed acts next, any motion is likely to be small, implying charge card APRs would likely stay raised by historic requirements. And as the chart listed below programs, APRs can vary substantially by card type. Source: LendingTree evaluation of openly offered conditions for about 220 U.S.Obviously, your best relocation is to make those rate of interest a moot point by paying your card financial obligation in full, however that's often much easier stated than done. Simply 2.92% of Americans' impressive credit card balances were at least thirty days delinquent in the very first quarter of 2026. According to the newest delinquency information from the Fed, the 30-day delinquency rate the share of outstanding credit card balances that were at least one month unpaid dipped to 2.92% in the first quarter of 2026, the seventh straight quarterly reduction.