American Debt Just Hit Another Record High
Americans owe more money than ever. Total household debt climbed to $18.59 trillion between July and September, according to data released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
That's up $197 billion from the previous quarter. Since the end of 2019—right before the pandemic tanked everything—household debt has jumped $4.4 trillion.
The debt pile includes mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and student loans. Basically, everything people borrow money for, all stacked together into one massive number that keeps getting bigger.
Student Loans Are a Mess
Student loan debt hit its own record: $1.65 trillion. Worse, nearly 10% of all student debt is now at least 90 days delinquent. People aren't just behind—they're way behind.
Part of the problem traces back to pandemic-era policies. Federal student loan payments were paused for four years. When payments resumed, a lot of missed payments that weren't previously reported to credit bureaus suddenly started showing up on credit reports.
"Missed federal student loan payments that were not previously reported to credit bureaus between 2020 Q2 and 2024 Q4 are now appearing in credit reports," the report explained.
New York Fed researchers admitted measuring student loan delinquencies remains complicated because of that four-year pause. The data's messy, but the trend is clear: a lot of borrowers can't keep up.
Credit Cards Hit All-Time High Too
Americans' credit card balances increased by $24 billion in the third quarter, reaching $1.23 trillion total. That's an all-time high.
Credit card debt is up nearly 6% compared to a year ago. Not great, considering credit cards typically carry interest rates in the 20% range.
Auto loan balances stayed flat at $1.66 trillion. At least something held steady.
The Economy That Works for Some
Despite the record debt levels, researchers at the New York Fed said overall household balance sheets remain "pretty strong." There are some warning signs among younger borrowers, though.
Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, summed it up: "Student loan delinquencies are at a record high, but auto loan and credit card delinquencies aren't as high as they were in the middle of 2024."
He also pointed to what economists call the K-shaped recovery. "While there is some distress at the household level – in line with that K-shaped economy where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer – the macro picture is fairly bright," Rossman said.
Translation: if you're doing well, you're probably doing really well. If you're struggling, you're falling further behind. The aggregate data looks okay because the people at the top are doing fine enough to offset everyone else's problems.
What This Actually Means
Record debt isn't automatically catastrophic. Americans have more debt partly because the economy is bigger and housing prices have climbed dramatically since 2019. People borrow more when houses cost more.
But the delinquency data tells a different story. Nearly one in ten student loan borrowers can't make payments. Credit card balances keep climbing while interest rates stay brutal. Auto loans aren't getting worse, but they're not improving either.
The "pretty strong" household balance sheets the Fed researchers mentioned? That strength isn't distributed evenly. Younger borrowers are showing cracks. People who couldn't afford to miss student loan payments before the pandemic definitely can't afford them now, especially with four years of missed payments suddenly reappearing on credit reports.
The macro picture might look "fairly bright" to economists analyzing aggregate data, but aggregate data doesn't pay anyone's bills. It doesn't explain how to catch up on student loans when you've been behind for years. It doesn't make credit card interest rates less painful.
The Numbers Keep Going Up
$18.59 trillion in total household debt. $1.65 trillion in student loans. $1.23 trillion on credit cards. These aren't just abstract figures—they represent actual monthly payments millions of Americans are trying to make while everything else gets more expensive too.
The record keeps breaking because debt keeps accumulating faster than people can pay it down. Some of that reflects economic growth and people making major purchases like homes and cars. Some reflects people borrowing just to stay afloat.
The Fed can call household balance sheets "pretty strong" while acknowledging problems with younger borrowers. Bankrate can describe the macro picture as "fairly bright" while noting the K-shaped economy reality. Both things can technically be true.
But when student loan delinquencies hit records and credit card debt reaches all-time highs, the question isn't whether aggregate household balance sheets look okay on paper. It's whether the millions of people buried under that $18.59 trillion can actually afford their lives.
The data says no for a growing number of them.
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