Credit Card Debt Skyrocketed For Many Americans In 2025

Credit card debt in the U.S. did surge to record levels in 2025, but it grew at a steady, not explosive, pace and shows a mixed picture of risk and resilience.​

How high debt got

• Americans owed about 1.21–1.23 trillion dollars on credit cards by mid-to-late 2025, the highest level on record and roughly 6% higher than a year earlier.​

• On an individual basis, average cardholder balances were in the $5,500–$7,300 range, depending on how balances are measured, up around 6% year over year.​

Delinquency and distress

• Overall credit card delinquency rates at banks were just under 3% in Q3 2025, slightly down from late 2024 but still high versus the past decade.​

• Serious delinquency in the lowest‑income areas exceeded 20%, showing much sharper stress for poorer and younger borrowers even as higher‑income areas also saw large percentage increases.​

Why balances climbed

• Persistently higher cost of living after the pandemic led many households to use cards as a “cushion” once excess savings ran down.​

• Record‑high credit card APR levels in the low‑20% range and continued consumer spending meant balances and interest costs kept rising even with solid employment.​

Is “skyrocketed” accurate?

• In dollar terms, balances reached record highs and are significantly above pre‑pandemic norms, which feels like skyrocketing for many families.​

• But growth in 2025 was on the order of 5–6% year over year, which is a strong climb rather than a sudden spike, and headline delinquency rates have recently stabilized or edged down.​

What this means for households

• Financial strain is very uneven: lower‑income and younger borrowers are facing much higher delinquency and interest burdens than older or higher‑income households.​

• For an individual, the key warning signs are rising balances, making only minimum payments, and using cards for essentials like groceries or rent month after month, which are now common patterns in the stressed groups the data highlight.​

Younger and middle‑aged adults—especially Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X—saw the largest increases in credit card debt in 2025, while balances for most older consumers were flat or even declined.​

By age / generation

• Gen Z and millennials had some of the fastest‑growing balances, with 2025 marking the first year their average card debt clearly surpassed that of baby boomers and the Silent Generation.​

• Gen X (roughly ages 45–60) carried the highest dollar balances, reaching about 9,600 dollars on average in 2025—up roughly 2,600 dollars in only three years, one of the largest absolute increases.​

Younger vs. older adults

• For people 60 and under, average credit card balances have been rising steadily for years and accelerated again after 2021, reflecting higher living costs and heavier day‑to‑day card use.​

• Among baby boomers and the Silent Generation, balances were mostly flat or down slightly, with only a few high‑cost states (such as California, Florida, and Hawaii) seeing noticeable increases—and even there, growth was still faster for younger generations.​

Income and risk profile

• Lower‑income cardholders saw some of the largest increases in delinquency and stress related to card debt, even when their balances were smaller than those of higher‑income borrowers.​

• Newer cardholders and those with thinner credit histories—groups that overlap heavily with Gen Z and younger millennials—were more likely to experience rising balances and difficulty keeping up with payments.​