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Americans are feeling more anxious about their credit card debt, survey finds

By Kelly Hayes
Published  October 16, 2024 8:32am EDT
Consumer
FOX TV Stations
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FILE - An illustrative image of a person holding a credit card while on a computer on Jan. 11, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)On Tuesday, January 11, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by A

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The Brief

    • Americans appear to be feeling more worried about mounting credit card debt, according to the New York Fed’s September 2024 Survey of Consumer Expectations.
    • The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months increased for the fourth consecutive month to 14.2%.
    • The increase in delinquency expectations was most pronounced among those between the ages of 40 and 60 and those with annual household incomes above $100,000.

NEW YORK - While Americans appear to be feeling less anxious about job security and inflation, they also are more worried about mounting credit card debt, according to a new survey. 

The New York Fed’s September 2024 Survey of Consumer Expectations, released on Tuesday, found that the average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months increased for the fourth consecutive month to 14.2%, compared to 13.6% in August. 

This was the highest percentage observed by the monthly survey since April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The highest percentage found by the survey was in September 2013, when 17.2% of respondents reported a high probability of missing a minimum debt payment.

For the most recent survey, which included a "nationally representative," rotating panel of approximately 1,300 household heads, the increase of delinquency expectations was most pronounced among certain groups – including those between the ages of 40 and 60.

Those with annual household incomes above $100,000 also had the biggest observed spike month-to-month in the survey (6.4% to 8.4%).

Americans’ average credit card balances

Credit card debt at record levels ahead of holidays

Ted Rossman, Senior Industry Analyst at Bankrate, joins LiveNOW's Carel Lajara to discuss how consumers can manage credit card debt ahead of the holiday season.

Americans’ total credit card balance was $1.14 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, according to consumer debt data from the New York Fed – which is the highest balance since it began tracking in 1999.

The national average credit card debt among Americans with unpaid balances in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $6,864, down from $6,993 in the third quarter, according to data published this month by Lending Tree. The figure includes debt from bank cards and retail credit cards.

The five states with the highest debt were all in the eastern U.S., and the four with the lowest were in the South, Lending Tree reported. New Jersey had the highest average credit card debt of any state, according to the organization’s data, while those in Mississippi had the lowest.

The Source

  • This story cites The Federal Reserve of New York’s September 2024 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which is an internet-based survey of a rotating panel of approximately 1,300 household heads. Respondents participate in the panel for up to 12 months, with a roughly equal number rotating in and out of the panel each month. It also includes data from LendingTree analysts, who reviewed anonymized credit report data from the fourth quarter of 2023 for more than 350,000 LendingTree users to calculate these averages and create a list of states with the most debt. The story was reported from Cincinnati.