Average Debt

[debtfreecb]

Does anyone know what the average american has in debt with things like credit cards and home equity loans. Just curious?

[project15]

Somewhere around $8,000 in CC debt.


The typical U.S. household carries $9,200 in credit card debt.
source: Living Debt-Free - Forbes.com

Average households carry some $8,000 in credit card debt.
source: How does your debt compare? - MSN Money

[buzz]

The $8000 figure is apparently over-simplistic, obtained by merely dividing total US credit card debt by the number of households.

According to another article, over half of American households have no credit card debt, and half of those that do owe less than $2000. Only 6% owe $8000 or more.

To quote the article's opening line:
"Conventional wisdom is that were all hooked and struggling. The reality is, in fact, quite different and less frightening."

Link

[Fizgig]

Ditto what Buzz said....

Most people don't carry that much debt, but those that do sway the "average" to the higher side.

What worries me more is the staggering lack of savings.

[brig2221]

I would be curious if they include the no interest 0% financing, no payments until 20XX as credit card debt.

If they don't, then they really aren't looking at the whole picture IMHO.

[disneysteve]

Does anyone know what the average american has in debt with things like credit cards and home equity loans. Just curious?

There is no such thing as the "average American." Averages can be incredibly deceiving and credit card debt is a perfect example. If one person owes nothing and another owes $50,000, that would make the average debt $25,000. The averages are very skewed by people at the extremes of the range.

CardTrak.com - News - Debt Mystery

CardTrak.com - Most Trusted Source of Credit Cards Since 1986

[PauletteGoddard]

I wish you had asked what the average homeowner had for outstanding mortgage and home equity loans, and what the average consumer credit outstanding was, because then I could lead you to the Federal Reserve's 2007 Third Quarter Flow of Funds Debt Sector Report.

73.4 million homeowners according to the White House
let's estimate 28% of them own property free and clear: 20.552 million
52.848 million homeowners with mortgages

10.3994 trillion dollars of home mortgages outstanding
average mortgage is $196779.44

The Federal Reserve states that the average household in 2007 carried nearly $8,500 in credit card debt.

Anyway, I hope these statistics from the Federal Reserve and the White House are trustworthy and accurate enough to satisfy your curiosity.

[bjl584]

Not sure. I know what the averages are, but that doesn't tell you much. The outliers who have a whole lot of debt can throw it off for the rest of us. Similarly, people with a high level of income and net worth can throw it off. Theoretically, someone could charge $50,000 on a card to take advantage of some sort of rewards program only to turn and pay off the bill on full a month or two later. One thing that I learned in Statistics and Economics is that numbers and figures can be made to say anything that you want if you massage them and tweak them the right way. This becomes very apparent with politicians and other groups and organizations that have an agenda. Personally, I have $500 in credit card debt that will be paid off in the next couple months. My own personal financial numbers are the ones that I tend to focus on the most.

[disneysteve]

people with a high level of income and net worth can throw it off.

That's a really good point. If someone who earns 250K owes 10K on a 0% credit card, that's a lot different than someone who earns 40K and owes 10K on a credit card at 18%. They both owe the same 10K, but their situations are totally different.

[buzz]

According to the article I linked above...

# More than a third -- 36% -- of those who owe more than $10,000 on their cards have household incomes under $50,000, according to the VIP Forum analysis.

# 13% who owe that much have household incomes under $30,000.

Many of these folks probably have significant problems coping with that debt load. They represent about 1% of American households.

[PRICEPLUS]

Averages can be decieving. The basic gist of this site and the mind set of most here is get debt free and stay that way. Pay off debt and save is the way to go.

Credit card debt is horrible. Those least able to pay or understand CC usage often find themselves in trouble. I believe those carrying the most debt are the laeast able to pay and have the highest interest rates.

I would find an average based on income bracket to get a better idea of what the true situation is!

[Snodog]

This is one area that i'm glad to be below average.

[loanstar]

Ditto what Buzz said....

Most people don't carry that much debt, but those that do sway the "average" to the higher side.

What worries me more is the staggering lack of savings.

Fiz, thats why its called an average!

[safari]

Averages don't mean much. For example, I am currently carrying $137,000 balance on my credit cards at 0%, while that money is sitting in my savings accounts and CD's that are earning >5% interest.

[Pleasenodebt]

To find the average i think the equation would have to limit the factors to only people with credit card debt. If you included the people that had none that could ruin the number.