US household debt rose to 19.1 trillion dollars in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Household Debt and Credit Report. The total grew by 334 billion dollars, or 1.8 percent, from the previous quarter. Year on year, the increase was 520 billion dollars.
Mortgages lead the increase
Mortgage debt, the largest component, reached 13.37 trillion dollars after a quarterly rise of 257 billion dollars. Over the year, mortgage balances grew by 302 billion dollars. Auto loans stood at 1.73 trillion dollars, rising by 21 billion dollars in the quarter.
Student loan balances reached 1.66 trillion dollars, up 5 billion dollars. Credit card debt totalled 1.29 trillion dollars, after a quarterly increase of 22 billion dollars.
Delinquencies edge higher
The share of household debt in delinquency rose to 5 percent in the quarter. That was an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter.
The figures show borrowing continuing to expand while a larger share of balances has slipped into arrears.
Source: Federal Reserve
