US credit card debt surges to 1.26 trillion dollars, nearing record high
Macro
Credit card debt held by Americans has climbed close to an all-time high amid elevated living costs and interest rates. The latest quarterly household debt and credit report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that overall US household debt in the second quarter of 2026 fell by 13 billion dollars to 18.8 trillion dollars, but credit card debt rose by 21 billion dollars to 1.26 trillion dollars, an increase of 1.7 percent from the previous quarter and close to last year's peak of 1.28 trillion dollars. The share of credit card balances more than 90 days past due rose from 7.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022 to 12.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while credit card interest rates climbed from an average of about 15 percent in 2021 to nearly 21 percent today. Economists see the main causes as persistently high prices for goods and services, especially food and energy, combined with high interest rates, which have put household budgets under greater strain.
