What generation has most credit card debt?
A November 2023
Americans collectively owe over $1 trillion in credit card debt. 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.
Credit Card Debt Demographics
Baby boomers and Generation X had the highest credit card balances of over $7,500 in 2022. Millennials take second place with around $6,500 in credit card debt. Cardholders 75 and over had the lowest debt, at just under $4,000.
While Gen Z has the fastest-growing debt load, Gen X has the largest average debt balance at $167,493, followed by millennials' $124,295, LendingTree said. “You can't run up big debts if you can't get access to credit,” Schulz says.
Average credit card debt by age group
According to the most recent Experian analysis, Generation X carries the largest credit card balances of all five generations.
Average American credit card debt by age
Gen X, ages 42-57, had the highest average credit card debt, at $8,134.
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.
While Americans of all ages are grappling with higher balances, Gen Z and millennials are seeing the largest average increases in total debt and the steepest decline in credit scores, according to data provided to Fortune by personal finance company Credit Karma on tens of millions of member accounts.
With an average credit card balance of $1,963, consumers in Generation Z carry the lowest credit card debt. Younger credit cardholders just starting out typically have lower credit limits than their older cohorts, so it isn't unusual that Gen Z would have the lowest credit card debt.
Credit card debt by generation
Generation X has an average of $8,134 in credit card debt. Baby boomers have an average of $6,245 in credit card debt. Millennials have an average of $5,649 in credit card debt. The Silent generation (born between 1928-1946) has an average of $3,316 in credit card debt.
Which is the unhappiest generation?
The World Happiness Report is out and Finland has once again been declared the happiest country in the world. However, the report reveals that Gen Z (aged 15-24) are unhappy.
Gen Z faces unique financial challenges compared to older generations. College graduates earn 10% less compared to their parents, recent research found. High inflation — and affordability concerns among Gen Zers — extend beyond U.S. borders.
Younger American (millennial and Gen Z) families represented 33.1% of households and owned 9.3% of total family wealth (72% less wealth) in 2023. The baby boomers' shortfall was the smallest of the generations. SOURCES: Distributional Financial Accounts and Institute for Economic Equity calculations.
The news: Gen Z's credit card debt is growing faster than that of any other generation, according to data from Credit Karma.
Running up $50,000 in credit card debt is not impossible. About two million Americans do it every year. Paying off that bill?
Around 23% of Americans are debt free, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve. That figure factors in every type of debt, from credit card balances and student loans to mortgages, car loans and more.
Americans — particularly Millennials and those with lower incomes — are becoming increasingly overextended financially: Credit card and auto loan delinquencies have not only surpassed pre-pandemic levels, they're the highest they've been in more than a decade.
We also compared that data to what we had found in our third-quarter analysis of more than 310,000 reports. Overall, the national average card debt among cardholders with unpaid balances in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $6,864, down from $6,993 in the third quarter.
Data showed that people 35 or younger have the lowest average credit card debt at $3,700. Around 48% of individuals in this age group carry debt. Adults 75 or older have the highest average credit card debt at $8,100, but just 28% of people in this age group have debt.
According to a 2019 Experian study, men carry more debt than women across nearly all categories, including credit card debt — the study found that men have $125 more in credit card debt than women on average.
Do millennials have more debt?
The biggest part of that demographic group—people in their thirties—struggled with a record-high debt of over $3.8 trillion at the end of 2022, up 27% from 2019, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and reported by the Wall Street Journal.
King said millennials' purchasing preferences and the soaring cost of living has led many into "a vicious cycle of taking on more debt." Many were "forced" to rely on credit cards and loans to meet their needs, adding to their "crippling debt pile."
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. And, while both Gen Z and millennials fall below the preceding generations, Gen Z is currently outscoring millennials by three points.
Generations | Born | Current Ages |
---|---|---|
Gen Z | 1997 – 2012 | 12 – 27 |
Millennials | 1981 – 1996 | 28 – 43 |
Gen X | 1965 – 1980 | 44 – 59 |
Boomers II (a/k/a Generation Jones)* | 1955 – 1964 | 60 – 69 |
The average FICO credit score in the US is 717, according to the latest FICO data. The average VantageScore is 701 as of January 2024. Credit scores, which are like a grade for your borrowing history, fall in the range of 300 to 850.
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