How to Get 2026 Financial Hardship Relief

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Americans have a record quantity of credit card debt $1.252 trillion, to be specific. This credit card debt data page tracks Americans' credit card use each month.

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While charge card financial obligation tends to rise year over year, it generally falls from Q4 of one year to Q1 of the next. The last time we saw card financial obligation boost in Q1 remained in 2001. (The only time it didn't fall in Q1 since then was 2023, when it remained the same.) Even with this quarter's decrease, credit card balances have actually risen by $482 billion given that Q1 2021, when credit card debt bottomed out at $770 billion throughout the pandemic.

Americans' charge card debt is $325 billion higher than the pre-pandemic record set in Q4 2019, when balances stood at $927 billion. (That's a 35% increase.) Charge card balances have actually traditionally rebounded after first-quarter declines, though future borrowing patterns will depend upon aspects including rates of interest, inflation and more comprehensive economic conditions.

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Charge card financial obligation increased gradually up until the financial crisis, then declined from $866 billion in Q4 2008 to $660 billion in Q1 2013 before resuming its upward trajectory. Then, when the pandemic took hold in 2020, charge card balances plunged again from $927 billion in Q4 2019 to $770 billion in Q1 2021.

Credit cardholders in Connecticut have the highest average credit card debt of any state, according to LendingTree data, while those in Mississippi have the lowest. Source: LendingTree analysis of the anonymized credit reports of more than 400,000 LendingTree users in the third quarter of 2025 and more than 410,000 in Q3 2024.

Joint accounts were divided in half to show shared responsibility in between the account holders. LendingTree analysts examined anonymized credit report data from Q3 2025 for more than 400,000 LendingTree users to determine these averages and produce a list of states with the most financial obligation. The analysis was also compared with Q3 2024 data from more than 410,000 reports.

Eleven states had average balances of at least $9,000. Washington has the fastest-growing card debt in the duration evaluated.

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3 other states saw double-digit boosts, including South Dakota (up 11.7%), Nebraska (up 11.3%) and Wisconsin (up 10.2%). On The Other Hand, New Mexico saw the largest year-over-year decrease in debt, with its locals' financial obligation falling 10.3% from $6,543 to $5,871. In all, seven states saw charge card balances decrease in the past year.

Fewer than half of adult credit cardholders (45%) brought a balance on a credit card for at least one month in the past year, according to a May 2026 Federal Reserve research study utilizing 2025 data. Paying a credit card balance in complete every month is the most reliable method to avoid interest charges and keep debt from accumulating.

For all charge card, the typical APR in Q2 2026 was 20.94%. For cards accumulating interest, the average in Q2 2026 was 22.15%. For brand-new credit card offers, the average is 23.79%. Average APR, present card accounts: 20.94% Typical APR, accounts that accumulate interest: 22.15% Average APR, new credit card uses: 23.79% The Federal Reserve's G. 19 consumer credit report showed that the average APRs for cards accumulating interest increased to 22.15% in Q2 2026, up from 21.52% in Q1 2026.

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Consumers opening a brand-new credit card account might face greater rates than the averages for existing accounts. The current LendingTree data on charge card APRs shows that the average APR with a brand-new charge card deal is 23.79%, with the average card providing an APR variety of 20.18% to 27.41%.

The 23.79% average was unchanged for the 2nd straight month and third in four. It's the first time because LendingTree began tracking card rates monthly that they went the same in back-to-back months. That stability is likely the outcome of the Fed leaving rates the same throughout 2026. When the Fed raises or lowers rates, a lot of credit card APRs in the U.S.Anytime the Fed acts next, any motion is likely to be little, indicating credit card APRs would likely remain raised by historic requirements. And as the chart listed below shows, APRs can differ substantially by card type. Source: LendingTree evaluation of publicly available conditions for about 220 U.S.Obviously, your best move is to make those interest rates a moot point by paying your card debt in full, however that's often simpler stated than done. Just 2.92% of Americans' impressive credit card balances were at least thirty days delinquent in the first quarter of 2026. According to the latest delinquency information from the Fed, the 30-day delinquency rate the share of impressive credit card balances that were at least one month past due dipped to 2.92% in the first quarter of 2026, the seventh straight quarterly reduction.