US Household Debt Reaches $19.1T As Mortgage Balances Lead Increase
US household debt stood at $19.1 trillion; about half the $257 billion mortgage increase came from balances reported again after a data gap.
Reported US household debt reached $19.1 trillion at the end of September, rising $334 billion during the third quarter, the New York Fed said in its 10th November press release. Mortgages accounted for $257 billion of the recorded increase, or about 77% based on the report's rounded changes.
The full report says about half the mortgage increase came from balances that had been missing from the previous quarter's figures. That portion does not represent new borrowing during the third quarter.
Mortgage balances reached $13.4 trillion, while home equity lines of credit rose $23 billion to $481 billion. The latter was the largest quarterly increase in those balances since 2005.
Credit card debt rose $22 billion to $1.29 trillion, auto loans increased $21 billion to $1.73 trillion, and student debt edged up $5 billion to $1.66 trillion. These are amounts owed, rather than new lending during the quarter.
Missed Payments Show A Mixed Picture
The report shows that overdue balances made up 5% of household debt at the end of September. That share increased by 0.3 percentage points over three months. That measures the share of balances with overdue payments, not the share of people behind on a loan.
The New York Fed said the share of balances newly falling behind on payments increased slightly for mortgages and auto loans but eased for credit cards. The share of mortgage balances newly reaching serious delinquency, meaning at least 90 days overdue, also rose. The bank said that rate remained low compared with its history. Its economic research advisor Donghoon Lee said housing loans' overall credit quality remained strong.
In an accompanying blog analysis, New York Fed researchers found a widening gap since 2022 between lower-income and higher-income neighbourhoods in the rate at which credit card balances became seriously overdue. Their groups use average income by ZIP code, rather than each borrower's income.
Cards opened during 2020–22 held a substantial share of the credit card balances that newly became seriously overdue in 2023 and 2024, the researchers found. That contribution has since fallen.
A Separate Measure Shows Credit Balances Growing
The Federal Reserve Board's 6th November consumer credit release said consumer credit grew at a 4.2% seasonally adjusted annual rate during the third quarter. Its measure covers most consumer credit but excludes loans secured on real estate, so it does not include the mortgages that dominate the New York Fed's increase.
That annualised rate is not directly comparable with the New York Fed's 1.8% change over one quarter.
Our reports on US employment in October and PCE inflation and household income cover separate measures of households' earnings and purchasing power.
