Survey: Gen X Holds the Most Credit Card Debt, on Average; Gen Z Holds the Least (2024)

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Survey: Gen X Holds the Most Credit Card Debt, on Average; Gen Z Holds the Least? ›

Survey: Gen X Holds the Most Credit Card Debt, on Average; Gen Z Holds the Least. Americans collectively owe over $1 trillion in credit card debt, with members of Generation X, on average, owing the most and Gen Zers owing the least, CNBC.com Make It reported.

Gen X (Ages 44-59)

According to the Experian study, Gen X is the generation with the most credit card debt out of all generations at over $9,000 — a figure that exceeds the national average of $6,501 by more than 40%.

Born between the early 1960s and early 1980s, most Gen X consumers have a home mortgage, own a car they pay for in installments, among other consumer loans, and have had several credit cards for years, making this the most indebted generation.

Members of Gen Z are starting out their adult lives with more debt. The credit bureau TransUnion is out with more evidence of that in a report this week finding that borrowers aged 22 to 24 are carrying an average of about $2,800 in credit card debt.

Gen X (ages 43 to 58) not only carries the most debt on average of all the generations, but is also the debt leader in credit card and total non-mortgage debt.

Gen X members carry the most credit card debt, with an average of $8,266. On the flipside, Generation Z an average of only $2,781 in credit card debt, the lowest amount of all generations.

By 2030, Millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) are expected to have the most total debt at an average of $228,891 per person. Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) holds the most student debt at an average of $45,796, while Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) has the lowest with $20,468.

Ageism has long been a concern in the job market, but the confluence of mass layoffs, post-pandemic economic uncertainty and rapid technological change – including the emergence of AI – is hitting Gen Xers particularly hard.

But half of Gen Xers — who are ages 43 to 58 — reported that they do not feel financially secure. They were also the least likely to report feeling somewhat or very financially secure.

Is Gen Z the most stressed generation? ›

Although the stress of experiencing a continuing polycrisis affects people of all demographics, recent research from GlobeScan shows that Gen Z respondents across 31 countries and territories are more than twice as likely to say they frequently experience stress and anxiety than are Baby Boomers and older.

Compared to Gen Z, millennials typically spend more money, which comes to no surprise, since they are older, more likely to be employed, and typically less reliant on their parents or guardians.

Gen Zers have credit cards at much higher rates than millennials. Nearly 84% of Gen Z consumers have a least one credit card, higher than the 61% of millennials who had at least one card 10 years ago.

Gen Z: 711

Baby boomers have the highest credit scores among the generations, with Gen X coming in second, trailing baby boomers by 26 points and falling just below the national average.

But one generation carries the most, on average: Gen X. The average credit card balance for Gen Xers, defined at those between the ages of 43 and 58, rose to $9,123 in the third quarter of 2023, according to Experian's latest available data. That marks the highest average credit card balance of any generational cohort.

By 2030, Millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) are expected to have the most total debt at an average of $228,891 per person. Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) holds the most student debt at an average of $45,796, while Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) has the lowest with $20,468.