--- title: 'America’s Credit Card Crisis: Here’s How High the Average Balance Is Now' description: The average credit card balance is now $6,329, up over $1,000 in two years, according to TransUnion. Millions more carry a balance too. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 597 covers: - Credit Cards - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Credit Cards - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2024-08-09T20:00:31.000Z' modified: '2025-10-24T15:01:44.000Z' section: Credit Cards tags: - News word_count: 417 canonical: https://money.com/average-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo Collage of a man carrying a giant credit card on his back](https://img.money.com/2024/08/News-Credit-Card-Debt-Increase.jpg) Credit cardholders have racked up an additional $1,000 of debt on average in the last two years, a sign that Americans are turning to plastic to support their spending while inflation is high. The average [credit card](https://money.com/best-credit-cards/) balance per consumer increased to $6,329 in the second quarter, an increase from $5,270 two years ago, according to a new report from [TransUnion](https://newsroom.transunion.com/q2-2024-ciir/), one of the three major credit bureaus. Credit products, including credit cards, “continue to serve to bridge the financial gaps that may exist in many household budgets,” according to the report. TransUnion cites high interest rates and inflation since 2021 as two of the main pressures credit cardholders have been facing. “Just about everything consumers purchase has increased in price,” the report said. “While the rate of inflation has slowed, balances continue to rise.” ## Regain financial stability with the help of Freedom Debt Relief ### Freedom can start you on the path to resolve your debt, especially if you owe over $20,000. Why wait? Select your state to get started today! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/l67257dab4e3?ap_referrer=%2Faverage-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion%2F) ## Why credit card balances are rising Some consumers are opening more credit cards, with the total number reaching 545 million in the second quarter. But that figure has only increased by 2.7% in a year, and credit card companies have tightened lending standards for riskier borrowers amid a rise in missed payments and [delinquencies](https://money.com/credit-card-delinquencies-high-federal-reserve/). According to a separate [New York Fed report](https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2024/20240806) earlier this week, about 9.1% of credit card balances became delinquent — or at least 30 days overdue — in the past year. That's an increase from a rate of 7.2% one year ago. Cardholders in serious delinquency (overdue for 90 days or more ) is also up, from 5.1% a year ago to 7.2% now. The growth in [credit card debt](https://money.com/how-to-pay-off-credit-card-debt/) results from more cardholders carrying balances, while borrowers are also letting their account balances grow. The number of consumers carrying a balance was 170.1 million in the second quarter, an increase of nearly 3 million in a year. “Higher-risk prime and below segments seem to be experiencing more significant inflationary pressures and as such, relying on their cards more, evident in increasing balances and higher utilization,” Paul Siegfried, a senior vice president at TransUnion, said in the report. Total card balances increased to $1.05 trillion in the second quarter, up 8.6% year over year, according to the report. On the bright side, that rate of increase — while still high — is down from the previous quarter when balances were up 11.3% over the year-ago level. ## Struggling with debt? Get relief today! ### If you owe over $20,000, Freedom Debt Relief can help reduce your burden. Start your journey by clicking below! [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/o8c065d70a1a?ap_referrer=%2Faverage-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Credit Cards", "item": "https://money.com/credit-cards/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "News", "item": "https://money.com/tag/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "America’s Credit Card Crisis: Here’s How High the Average Balance Is Now" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/average-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion/", "name": "America’s Credit Card Crisis: Here’s How High the Average Balance Is Now", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-08-09T20:00:31.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/average-credit-card-balance-increase-transunion/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-10-24T15:01:44.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "America’s Credit Card Crisis: Here’s How High the Average Balance Is Now", "articleSection": "Credit Cards", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/08/News-Credit-Card-Debt-Increase.jpg", "width": 2400, "height": 1600, "caption": "News-Credit-Card-Debt-Increase" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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