Consumers are seeing a bigger portion of their paychecks go to car debt at the same time that prices at the pump are rising.
Just how bad is it?
About one in four, or roughly 86 million Americans, had auto loan or car lease debt at the end of 2025, according to think tank The Century Foundation and consumer advocacy group Protect Borrower.
According to the researchers total auto debt was $1.68 trillion at the end of 2025 up 37% from 2018, when auto debt stood at $1.23 trillion.
The average origination balance for an auto loan was $33,519 in December compared to $24,782 at the end of 2018, according to CNBC.
