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April
22, 2009
Average
Credit Card Debt $4,150 Per Adult, Over $7,900 Per Household
Using government debt data and census data,
IndexCreditCards.com has determined that the average American
adult is carrying $4,150 in revolving debt (mainly credit card
debt) and the average American household is carrying $7,980
in such debt.
Data
released earlier this month from the Federal Reserve Board estimates
that revolving consumer debt in the United States totals over
$955 billion. Using census data from 2006 to the present, IndexCreditCards.com
estimates the adult (18 and over) population of the U.S. at
230,265,970 and the total number of households at 119,756,270.
Dividing the total revolving debt by the population/household
figures gives the resulting debt averages.
(Federal
Reserve surveys suggest that about 75% of households have at
least one credit card, and 25% have none. If we count only those
households that report actually having one or more credit cards,
the average household credit card debt would be $10,640.)
While
still quite high, these numbers are actually down from the averages
we reported back in October of 2008, when the average debt per
adult was $4,150 and the average per household was $8,188. While
the bleak economy might suggest that credit usage would increase,
the economy has also caused many lenders to pull back on credit
offers. In addition, many consumers have severely cut back on
spending as their earning outlooks have become more cloudy.
Revolving
debt is mainly debt from credit cards, although related revolving
consumer debt such as home equity lines of credit are included
as well.
A
caveat: Not all revolving debt is long-term debt accruing interest
--- some of this debt is paid off each month. (Although pinpointing
how much debt gets paid off every month is difficult, various
surveys have reported that 40% to 55% of card holders say they
pay off their full balances every month.)
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