Americans' debt levels tend to peak in middle age, while seniors usually have lower debt levels. That's because they've had more time to pay down mortgage, credit card and student loan debt.
The average American debt totals $59,580, including mortgages, auto loans, student loans, and credit card debt. Debt peaks between ages 40 and 49, and the average amount varies widely across the country.
Black and other families are the most likely to have high debt payment burdens: 9 percent of these families have debt-payment-to-income ratios above 40 percent. Hispanic families follow closely at 8 percent. Black families are the most likely to be late on payments.
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. Meanwhile, 52% of Americans 45–54 years old have credit card debt, making them the age group most likely to carry it.
Debt is part of the average American's life, and you can start to accumulate it as young as your 20s. New findings from Experian's 2020 State of Credit report show that the average Gen Z consumer (ages 24 and younger) has about $10,942 worth of debt, not including mortgages.
“That's because the best balance transfer and personal loan terms are reserved for people with strong credit scores. $20,000 is a lot of credit card debt and it sounds like you're having trouble making progress,” says Rossman.
How much is the average Australian in debt? According to a study from Invezz, Australia's household debt is the fifth highest in the world, at about $86,000 per household. Given that the average available income is only $42,554, the amount of debt owed by households is a whopping 203%.
The Standard Route. The Standard Route is what credit companies and lenders recommend. If this is the graduate's choice, he or she will be debt free around the age of 58.
The average American holds a debt balance of $96,371, according to 2021 Experian data, the latest data available.
People ages 30 to 38 account for nearly $4 trillion of total household debt in the U.S. For millennials, that's a 27% increase in debt compared to 2019 — a steeper hike than any other generation, Yahoo Finance reporter Akiko Fujita told CBS News. Millennials are racking up debt due to soaring inflation, Fujita noted.
Dental school graduates have an average debt of 292,169, making them the most debt laden professional degree, followed by medical school at $201,490.
According to data on 78.2 million Credit Karma members, members of Generation X (ages 43 to 58) carry the highest average total debt — $61,036. In this study, debt includes the following account types: auto leases, auto loans, credit cards, student loans and mortgages.
Japan - Debt: 221.32% of GDP
Japan's debt-to-GDP ratio is the highest in the world due to a prolonged period of economic stagnation and demographic challenges.
Gen Z Americans racked up $2,781 worth of average credit card debt in the fourth quarter of 2022. Although Gen Z's credit card debt was the lowest among all five generations tracked, it grew at the fastest pace of around 6% in comparison to the three months through May 2022.
Given their modest financial resources, young people often find it difficult to build savings and may accrue credit card debt to pay for bills or emergency expenses. They have trouble repaying loans. Young people are more likely to have unpaid auto or retail loan debt.
In fact, 32.1% of millennials live with their parents, compared to 14% who live on their own, or, 31.6% who live with a spouse or partner. Once again, this may make it less likely for millennials to seek out debt to begin with, since they likely have fewer living expenses.
Many people would likely say $30,000 is a considerable amount of money. Paying off that much debt may feel overwhelming, but it is possible. With careful planning and calculated actions, you can slowly work toward paying off your debt. Follow these steps to get started on your debt-payoff journey.
Fewer than one quarter of American households live debt-free. Learning ways to tackle debt can help you get a handle on your finances.
While the average age borrowers expect to pay off their mortgage is 59, the number of survey participants who have no idea when they will pay it off at all stood at 16%. In 2019, 9% of those asked didn't know and in 2020, 11% gave this answer.
Between mortgage loans, credit cards, student loans, and car loans, it's not uncommon for the typical American to have one or more types of debt. The ones who are living debt-free may seem like a rarity, but they aren't special or superhuman, nor are they necessarily wealthy.
Without debt, you can focus on building more savings, investing those extra funds and just simply having more peace of mind about your finances. Paying off all your debt, however, doesn't always make sense.
Debt isn't always a bad thing. In some cases, taking on debt can even help you achieve your best life. However, having too much debt or carrying around the wrong type of debt (like credit card debt), is a huge impediment. In either case, pay down those debts as quickly as possible so they don't keep holding you back.
But as a general rule of thumb, a debt/income ratio of 10% or less is outstanding. If it's between 10 to 20%, your credit is good, and you can probably borrow more. But once you hit 20% or above it's time to take a serious look at your debt load.
A common rule of thumb is to have at least three months and ideally six months worth of living expenses in your savings at a minimum. This is to ensure you can manage if you were to suddenly be out of a job, if a health problem emerges or a change in personal circumstances occurs.