The financial website WalletHub has released its new Credit Card Debt Study, which found that consumers added $36 billion in debt during the second quarter of 2024, which is around 17% less than last year.
Some of the study’s key findings:
- Q2 Results: At $36 billion, the increase in credit card debt during Q2 2024 was around 17% smaller than the increase in Q2 2023.
- Debt Is Far Below the Peak: Total credit card debt is roughly $1.28 trillion after the Q2 increase, which is around 13% below the inflation-adjusted peak from December 2008.
- Household Debt Shows Breathing Room: The average household credit card balance as of Q2 2024 is around $10,680 after adjusting for inflation. That’s $1,991 below the peak from Q4 2007.
- Interest Rates Remain High for Now: The average credit card interest rate is 22.76%, which is just shy of a record high.
- Early Q3 Results: Preliminary data for July shows a new record high for the month in absolute terms, but when you adjust for inflation, there was a 4% increase in credit card debt compared to the same month last year (and no new record).
- Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards: The best balance transfer credit cards currently offer 0% APRs for up to 21 months with no annual fee and low balance transfer fees.
While debt is currently 13 percent under the 2008 high, it is still far, far higher than the 1986 low and is higher than it was during the Trump presidency.
The top five states with the highest credit card debt are:
- (Worst) California with $162,940,165,790 in credit card debt, up $4,547,427,625
- Texas with $119,455,449,414 in debt, up $3,333,831,213
- Florida with $93,344,367,383, up $2,605,108,156
- Illinois with $48,779,431,952, up $1,361,364,371
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