Credit Card Debt - Credit Card Debt Statistics

Credit Card Debt Statistics

Quarterly Credit Card Debt in the United States Since 2010 (in billions):

• Q2 2012: $799.5
• Q1 2012: $790.3
• Q4 2011: $834.4
• Q3 2011: $799.5
• Q2 2011: $794.3
• Q1 2011: $786.0
• Q4 2010: $833.1
• Q3 2010: $819.2
• Q2 2010: $830.5
• Q1 2010: $843.1

Credit Card debt in other countries:

• United Kingdom (March 2009) £64.7 billion
• Australia (2010) $50 billion (AUD)

Declines in credit card debt are often misinterpreted because they fail to include information about charge-offs. The possible causes for a decline in credit card debt are consumers paying down their debt, credit card companies writing charged-off debt off their books, or a combination of the two. Inclusion of charged-off debt can therefore significantly impact debt trends and the characterization of a nation’s financial health. For example, the $10.3 billion decrease in outstanding credit card debt in Q3 2010 relative to the previous quarter might at first glance seem to be a significant consumer pay down. However, considering that the Q3 credit card charge-off rate was $16.9 billion, consumers actually increased their overall debt by $6.6 billion during this quarter.

Consumers also commonly pay down a large portion of their credit card debt in the first fiscal quarter of the year as this tends to be the time when people receive holiday bonuses and tax refunds. However, credit card debt tends to increase throughout the rest of the year.

Credit card debt is said to be higher in industrialized countries. The average U.S. college graduate begins his or her post-college days with more than $2,000 in credit card debt. The median credit card debt in America is $3,000 and number of cards held is two.