Credit Karma’s State of Debt and Credit Report

October-December 2025

Updated February 2, 2026

Written by: Rebecca Moran

A picture of average American debt through Credit Karma’s members

Credit Karma Stat Snapshot

Average total debt:

$58,712

Generation with highest average total debt:

Gen X

Generation with highest YoY increase in total debt:

Gen Z

Average credit card debt:

$7,866

Average mortgage debt:

$272,382

Average credit score:

673

Average overall debt

This report provides a picture of average American debt through nearly 99.5 million Credit Karma members with a combined overall debt of more than $9.9 trillion.

Overall debt is defined as any type of debt noted on a Credit Karma member’s credit report. This includes credit card, mortgage, student loan, medical loan, auto lease and auto loan debt.

Average total debt overall continued to rise throughout 2025, but the pace of growth slowed in Q4

In the fourth quarter of 2025, average total overall debt among Credit Karma members increased to $58,712 from $55,879 in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 5% year-over-year gain.

That’s almost the same as 2024’s year-over-year average debt gains (4.9%) — however, in the last quarter of 2025, quarter-over-quarter average debt growth decelerated to just 0.53%. Data in the spring will reveal whether this is just a blip or a stronger signal of changing winds.

Gen Z continues to see the fastest-growing average debt

Generation Z still leads the way in debt growth among generations, with the highest YoY increase in average overall debt in Q4 2025 (15.29%). That’s almost double the debt growth of millennials (8.36%), which had the second-fastest growing debt average. Gen Z’s trajectory is even more eye-popping when their average debt in Q4 2023 ($19,441) is compared to that of Q4 2025 ($25,062): an increase of 28.91%.

Gen Z led all generations in year-over-year growth of average debt (Q4 2024 vs. Q4 2025) across all debt categories, but had the most significant gains in…

• Education: +13.55%
• Mortgage: +7.12%:  
• Credit cards: +5.79%

Gen Z debt growth saw its biggest quarter-over-quarter jump in the Q3 of 2025 — then in the last quarter had its lowest quarter-over-quarter gain (2.87%) in at least a couple years.

Average student loan debt continued to rise, but the pace tempered

Student loan debt grew 7.59%, the most of all debt categories year over year (Q4 2025 versus Q4 2024), driven largely by Gen Z and millennials (13.55% and 9.06%, respectively) — though Baby Boomers still held the highest average student loan debt in Q4 2025 ($48,965).

Notably, after a 3.39% quarter-over-quarter increase in Q1 2025, student loan debt overall slowed, with quarter-over-quarter increases the rest of the year averaging just 1.34%.

Decline in average inquiries and a rise in average open collections signal financial stress for younger generations

Pressures from debt growth and general economic uncertainty are likely causing Credit Karma members to pump the brakes when it comes to taking on more debt. In the last quarter of 2024, average inquiries across generations was 3.14. In the last quarter of 2025, the average dipped to 2.95.  

This hesitance to apply for news credit like cards and loans may be due to increased financial hardship, particularly among younger members. Gen Z and  millennials saw the biggest year-over-year drops in average credit inquiries in Q4  — along with some of the bigger increases in average open collections:

• Gen Z inquiries -6.21%, collections +4.88%
• Millennial inquiries -6.88%, collections +5.28%

Average overall debt among Credit Karma members by generation

Gen Z’s YoY average debt growth was 15.29%, the highest of all generations.
Still, Generation X continues to hold the highest average amount of debt — nearly three times that of Gen Z at $70,710 in the last quarter of 2025.

Average debt among Credit Karma members by credit score band

The highest credit score bands may have seen greater YoY growth in average debt because people with higher credit scores have greater access to credit on better terms. But in the last quarter of 2025 near prime members had the greatest increase in average debt year over year (8.08%).

Average credit card debt

In the last quarter of 2025, approximately 94.3 million Credit Karma members with at least one credit card held a total of approximately $589 billion in credit card debt, an increase of about 9.7% year over year.

Among generations, year-over-year gains in average credit card debt were most striking for the youngest generations (Gen Z at 5.79%, followed by millennials at 2.64%). In contrast, the oldest generations showed relatively flat or decreases in YoY average card debt.

Average credit card debt among Credit Karma members by generation

Gen X continued to have the highest average credit card debt ($10,354 in the last quarter of 2025).

Average credit card debt among Credit Karma members by credit score band

Average card debt grew the most year over year among members in the prime score band, while subprime members were the only group with a decrease.

Near prime members continued to have the highest average card balances in Q4 2025.

Average auto loan debt

In the last quarter of 2025, approximately 66.9  million Credit Karma members with at least one auto loan open held more than $1.17 trillion in loan debt. The average next payment was $673.

The average auto loan balance among members in Q4 was $25,806 — a modest 1.63% increase year over year.

Average auto loan debt among Credit Karma members by generation

Average auto loan debt among Credit Karma members by credit score band

Average mortgage debt

From October through December 2025, approximately 36.7 million Credit Karma members with at least one mortgage held a total of more than $7.4 trillion in mortgage debt. The average next payment was $2,185.

The average mortgage balance among members was up slightly year over year in Q4 at $272,382, a 3.57% increase from $262,997.

Average mortgage debt among Credit Karma members by generation

In a continuing trend from last year, millennials and Gen Z led the way in average mortgage debt gains year over year.

Average mortgage debt among Credit Karma members by credit score band

Average mortgage debt increased the most year over year among members in the lowest credit score band.

Average student loan debt

In the last quarter of 2025, approximately 32.4 million Credit Karma members with at least one student loan open held a total of more than $801 billion across 84.5 million student loans.

The average next payment was $123. The average student loan balance among members in the last quarter of 2025 was $34,072 — up 7.59% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, when average student loan debt was $31,667. This marks the largest YoY increase in average debt across the debt categories, driven in large part by Gen Z (up 13.55% YoY).

Average student loan debt among Credit Karma members by generation

Average student loan debt among Credit Karma members by credit score band

If you want help with your student loans, Credit Karma’s student loan resource page can walk you through a simple, step-by-step process to check your loan status, learn about options for relief and find answers to common student loan questions.

Average credit scores among Credit Karma members with debt

The average VantageScore 3.0 credit score for Credit Karma members with debt dropped year over year, from 676 in the last quarter of to 673 in the last quarter of 2025.

While Baby Boomers and the Silent generation had minor dips year over year, the decline in average credit scores for the youngest generations was more significant — with Gen Z dropping eight points to 659, and millennials dropping four points to t 665 in Q4 2025.

Average VantageScore 3.0 score among Credit Karma members with debt by generation

Accounts in collections

For this report, accounts in collections are any credit card, mortgage, student loan, medical loan, auto lease or auto loan accounts that have been sent to collections agencies, according to their credit reports. Creditors may have different standards for when they transfer debt to collections, but the typical cutoff is 120 to 150 days past due. For this report, we’re able to determine if an account is in collections but not how many days past due it is.

Among Credit Karma members with accounts in collections, the average number of open accounts (among those with collections on their credit reports) in the last quarter of 2025 was 2.5 — a slight lift year over year from 2.4 in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Keep in mind that this measure only looks at members who have open accounts in collections, not the Credit Karma member population as a whole. That means that it only captures people who are already potentially struggling with their finances.

Average number of accounts in collections among Credit Karma members by generation

Average number of accounts in collections by VantageScore 3.0 credit score band

Average credit inquiries

For this report, credit inquiries are applications for new credit, such as credit cards or loans.

In Q4 2025 compared to Q4 2025, inquiries fell across all generations and scorebands (except for super prime, which had no change) — continuing a year-plus downward trend. This likely reflects a pullback on credit applications given signs of increasing stress, including rising debt and an uptick in collections along with persistent macroeconomic uncertainties (tariffs and interest rates, for example).

Subprime and near prime members had the biggest decreases in inquiries among score bands in 2025.

Average number of credit inquiries by Credit Karma members by generation

Average number of credit inquiries by Credit Karma members by VantageScore 3.0 credit score band

Methodology

This report drew on insights from the aggregated reports of roughly 99.5 million Credit Karma users. All aggregate data analyzed was pulled on Jan. 5, 2026, and came from members’ TransUnion credit reports. Averages were based on information from the previous 90 days.

Average Credit Card Debt in America in 2023

A Credit Karma Study

Updated June 22, 2023

Written by: Rebecca Moran

Card debt is on the rise — up 4.4% since May 2022; Gen Z and members with lower credit scores see highest debt growth.

According to our Feb. 7, 2023, report of 74 million Credit Karma members with credit cards, Credit Karma members held more than $397 billion in credit card debt across more than 318 million open accounts. Average credit card debt by member was $6,469 — a 4.4% increase from May 2022.

Gen Z and members with credit scores of 660 and lower saw the highest growth in average debt from May 2022 to February 2023.

Read on for more findings, including a breakdown of credit card debt by generation, state and more. Learn more about our methodology.

Credit Karma Stat Snapshot

Generation with highest average credit card debt:

Gen X

Generation with lowest average credit card debt:

Gen Z

State with highest average credit card debt:

Alaska

State with lowest average credit card debt:

Mississippi

Average credit card monthly payment:

$181

Average credit card debt by generation

Generation X and baby boomer Credit Karma members, respectively, hold the highest average credit card debt, while Generation Z has the least. The average credit card debt carried members of Gen X is nearly triple the average credit card debt carried by members of Gen Z. But while Gen Z has the lowest average card debt, they saw the highest growth (7.4%) in average card debt from May 2022 to February 2023, followed by Millennials.

Generation X and baby boomer Credit Karma members, respectively, hold the highest average credit card debt, while Generation Z has the least. The average credit card debt carried by baby boomers and members of Gen X is around triple the average credit card debt carried by members of Gen Z.

Average credit card debt by state

Alaska tops the list, with members having the highest average credit card debt at $8,139, followed by Hawaii ($7,444) and New Jersey ($7,306). Members in Mississippi have the lowest average debt — $5,259. Kentucky is close behind with an average credit debt of $5,455.

Here is credit card debt by state, sorted alphabetically.

Higher average credit card debt may be due, in part, to where members live. Those with the lowest average credit card debt tend to live in states we have identified as some of the cheapest states to live in. Conversely, those with the highest average debt live in some of the states ranked the most expensive.

Average credit card debt by credit score

Credit Karma members with higher VantageScore 3.0 credit scores tend to have lower average credit card debt. Those with scores of 601 to 660 have the highest average debt — $9,295 — while those with scores of 781 to 850 average $3,345 in credit card debt.

Those with scores of 300 to 600 are an exception, with $5,684 in average card debt.

Members with lower scores saw the highest growth in average card debt from May 2022 to February 2023, while those in the highest score range saw the least.

A longer account history and lower credit card utilization can help improve credit scores.

Average monthly credit card payment

The average next credit card payment for Credit Karma members is $181. But the average payment is naturally higher for those with higher total credit card debt. For example, Gen X members average $8,266 in credit card debt and have an average next payment of $233. On the flip side, Gen Z members have an average of $2,781 in total card debt and an average next payment of only $83.

Tips for managing credit card debt

Mounting credit card debt can feel overwhelming, but the good news is that there are things you can do to find credit card relief. Here are some suggestions.

Negotiate with your credit card company

If you’ve already missed a payment or are about to, reach out to your credit card issuer. The company may be willing to work out a more manageable repayment plan for you. Some offer forbearance or hardship programs that could reduce your monthly payment or postpone a certain number of payments. You may even be able to settle your debt for a lower amount if the company determines that you aren’t able to pay back the full amount.

If you are able to work out an alternate repayment plan with your creditor, be sure to ask for the plan in writing.

Consider a personal loan to consolidate credit card debt

Consolidating your credit card debt into a personal loan may help you pay your debt off faster. With a debt consolidation personal loan, you make a single payment each month, and your interest rate is fixed, meaning it won’t change based on an index. Another benefit: Interest rates on personal loans tend to be lower than credit card rates. This can help lower your overall monthly payment and/or allow you to pay down your debt more quicky.

Take note that personal loans may come with fees, such as an origination fee or paperwork processing fee. Consider these fees when determining whether you might be able to save money with debt consolidation.

Methodology

To determine averages across credit card debt, we analyzed the accounts of more than 74 million U.S. Credit Karma members who had been active on the site within the last 36 months and who have credit card accounts. All aggregate data analyzed was pulled on Feb. 7, 2022. The data came from members’ TransUnion credit reports, and the averages were based on information from the last 90 days. For the purposes of this analysis, credit card debt is defined as any unpaid balance existing on members’ open credit cards in aggregate at the time the data was pulled. All numbers in this report were rounded to the nearest whole.