Poll

Says Average Credit Card Debt Tops $3,000 Per Cardholder and

Almost $6,000 for Balance Carriers

A new Gallup poll on personal finances is reporting that the

average credit card debt for holders of credit cards is $3,426.

However, this number includes consumers who say all of their

balances will be paid off when their next statements arrive

(42 percent said they always pay off their balances). For credit

card holders who revolve their balances, the average credit

card debt equalled $5,960.

Eighty

percent of those surveyed had at least one credit card. The

average respondent had 2.9 credit cards. However, this includes

the 20 percent that had no credit cards at all, so it is safe

to assume that the average credit card holder has more than

three credit cards.

Americans

with higher incomes were more likely to carry a large number

of credit cards as well as have a larger balance than low-income

Americans, but they were also more likely to report paying off

their balances in full each month.

Gallup

conducted telephone interviews with 1,005 national adults, aged

18 and older, between April 10th and April 13th.

Published 05/22/06 (Modified 05/07/12)