Americans have less non-mortgage debt than any time since 2019, a poll shows, but not everyone is benefitting.
Key Takeaways
- The average person with debt owed $21,800 outside of mortgages in 2023, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual.
- Debt has been declining for years and is now $8,000 lower than the average in 2019.
- The largest share of those polled (28%) said credit cards were their biggest source of debt, followed by 12% saying auto loans.
The average person with debt owed $21,800, not counting home loans in 2023, according to a Harris Poll survey of 1,776 U.S. adults released by financial planning firm Northwestern Mutual Tuesday. The figure has been steadily falling and is down $8,000 since polling began in 2019. The prime debt culprit: credit cards, which was the number one source of debt for 28% of those polled, with auto loans coming in a distant second at 12%.
"At a time of high inflation and economic uncertainty, it's encouraging to see personal debt levels have held relatively steady year-over-year, and even ticked down a little," said Christian Mitchell, chief customer officer at Northwestern Mutual, in a press release.
The debt survey adds to other data showing many people have financially benefited from economic conditions since the pandemic struck, and that by some measures, broadly speaking, household finances are in good shape despite widespread price increases for the necessities of life over the past few years. Rising wages, and government relief funds in the early years of COVID-19 enabled many to stockpile savings.
Not everyone has been able to pare down their debt, however. While 43% of those polled said they had the lowest debt of their lives or close to it, 35% said they had close to or at their highest level of debt ever.
