According to a Federal Reserve report this month, Americans have credit card debt totaling over $988 billion, which is a record high. The organization estimates that since April 2021, when it hit $740 billion, card debt has climbed by around $250 billion.
According to Wallet Hub, the average interest rate on credit cards was 20.92% in the first quarter of 2023, which is the highest level recorded since the Federal Reserve started keeping track of this data in 1994.
Annual percentage rates for new credit card offers increased to an average of 22.15% in the first quarter of 2023 from 18.32% in the same period of 2022.
According to Bankrate, nearly half (46%) of cardholders carry a balance from month to month, up from 39% a year ago.
It’s difficult to determine just how much credit card debt the typical American has.Experian, one of the three main credit agencies, reports that the average balance was $5,910 at the end of 2022, up 13.2% from the previous year.
However, according to USA Today’s review of information from the US Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, it is actually $7,951.
Given that the Federal Reserve has kept changing interest rates and that people are once again spending money on vacations and eating out, both numbers show an improvement from the pandemic’s peak.
