Some 13.1% of all US credit card balances are now at least 90 days overdue. That’s the highest reading since the tail end of the last financial crisis, and it’s closing in on the 13.7% peak hit in late 2010.
The figure, drawn from New York Fed data published on May 12, represents a 0.4 percentage point jump from the previous quarter. More alarming is the trajectory: serious credit card delinquencies have climbed 5.5 percentage points since Q3 2022. That pace of deterioration actually exceeds the increase seen during the 2007-2010 period.
The numbers behind the stress
Total US household debt now stands at roughly $18.8 trillion, according to the same NY Fed report. Credit card balances specifically sit at approximately $1.25 trillion, which actually ticked down slightly from the prior quarter.
Balances declining while delinquencies rise tells a specific story. It suggests that consumers aren’t piling on new debt at the same rate, but the debt they already carry is becoming harder to service.
