--- title: 3 Signs That America's Debt Crisis Is Growing description: 'A new report from the New York Fed finds America''s debt notching another record high: Household debt now totals a whopping $17.9 trillion.' authors: - name: Martha C. White role: Writer url: https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/ education: BA, English, Princeton University at_money_since: 2015 articles: 348 covers: - Debt - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Debt - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-11-15T13:12:54.000Z' modified: '2025-10-24T15:14:57.000Z' section: Debt tags: - News word_count: 681 canonical: https://money.com/debt-statistics-crisis-growing/ 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 fighting off debt](https://img.money.com/2024/11/News-Americans-Struggle-Debt.jpg) An uptick in car loan and mortgage delinquencies, still-climbing credit card debt and record-high collections balances: These are just a few signs that Americans are majorly struggling to stay on top of what they owe. In its new quarterly report released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that household debt increased in July, August and September and now totals a whopping $17.9 trillion. Overall household debt — which includes mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, student loans, [credit cards](https://money.com/best-credit-cards/), car loans and other types of debt like store credit cards — rose by $147 billion last quarter, with increases across all types of debt tracked. Mortgage debt rose by $75 billion, and balances on [home equity](https://money.com/get-a-home-equity-loan/) lines of credit (HELOC) rose by $7 billion. All the forms of non-mortgage debt tracked by the survey ticked up, as well. ## 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=%2Fdebt-statistics-crisis-growing%2F) The New York Fed noted in a blog [post](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2024/11/income-growth-outpaces-household-borrowing/) that income growth is keeping ahead of debt among American households overall. Our collective debt-to-income ratio stands at 82% compared to 86% in 2019. Even as inflation has pinched people's pocketbooks and higher interest rates make borrowing money more expensive, increased income has helped offset the loss of purchasing power. But a more detailed look at the data shows that some households are falling behind, with lower-income households especially vulnerable. In addition, the youngest borrowers — those between the ages of 18 and 29 — displayed more financial distress than older ones, with a higher percentage holding debt overdue by 90 days or longer. ## More people falling behind on home, car payments The report finds that delinquency rates rose in the third quarter across all debt categories, with 3.5% of all outstanding [debts](https://money.com/debt/) in some stage of delinquency, up from 3.2% last quarter. (Delinquent debts are those more than 30 days past due.) In its blog post, the New York Fed noted that delinquency rates have been climbing for the past couple of years and now are roughly where they were before the pandemic — although credit card and auto loan delinquency rates are now higher than they were in 2019. More alarming is that the report shows an increase in these loans moving into what it terms “serious delinquency” — 90 or more days late. While falling behind on credit card bills can [torpedo your credit score](https://money.com/why-did-my-credit-score-drop/) and make it difficult (or more expensive) to borrow money in the future, falling behind on loans backed by your house or your car leave you with the real risk that the lender will seize that collateral. ## Serious delinquencies, collections balances grow Debts overdue by 90-plus days rose across all debt categories from a year ago. These serious delinquencies were highest in the credit card debt category, rising to 11.1% in the third quarter. That's the highest since 2012. While there hasn’t been a big jump in the number of people with accounts in collections — the stage when debt has moved past delinquency and been sent to a third-party collections agency — the amount those debtors owe is soaring, hitting a record average high of $1,705. ## Credit card debt keeps climbing For at least some households, the solution seems to be to keep borrowing. Americans added $24 billion in credit card debt over the quarter. This brings the total up roughly 8% over a year ago, to the tune of nearly $1.2 trillion. With the average bank-issued credit card annual percentage rate (APR) at a [record-high](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TERMCBCCALLNS) 21.8% as of August, it’s clear that we’re paying substantial amounts of money just to service our debt — and this burden is growing increasingly heavy for some borrowers. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia noted a worrisome increase in credit card delinquency earlier this year. In the first three months of 2024, delinquent credit card balances hit a [12-year high](https://money.com/credit-card-delinquencies-high-federal-reserve), even as the number of delinquent accounts ticked down slightly. ## 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=%2Fdebt-statistics-crisis-growing%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! 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