Total US household debt declined 0.1% in the second quarter to roughly $18.77 trillion, marking the first quarterly drop since 2020, driven by shrinking mortgage and student loan balances even as credit card borrowing climbed.
Mortgage balances fell 0.6% to $13.12 trillion and student loans dipped 0.4%, while credit card debt rose 1.7% from the prior quarter to $1.26 trillion. Americans took out a record $211 billion in auto loans during the April–June period. The average annual interest rate on credit cards carrying balances stood at 22.15%.
Overall delinquency rates showed mixed signals. The share of debt newly slipping 30 or more days past due fell to 4.95%, yet new credit card delinquencies edged up to 8.69% and balances more than 90 days overdue reached 12.8%, up sharply from 7.6% in late 2022.