“Although household balances continue to rise in nominal terms, growth in income has outpaced debt.”
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows total household debt increased by $147 billion (0.8%) in Q3 2024, to $17.94 trillion. The report is based on data from the New York Fed’s nationally representative Consumer Credit Panel. It includes a one-page summary of key takeaways and their supporting data points.
The New York Fed also issued an accompanying Liberty Street Economics blog post examining the evolution in aggregate debt to income ratios and what that suggests about Americans’ ability to manage their debt obligations.
“Although household balances continue to rise in nominal terms, growth in income has outpaced debt,” said Donghoon Lee, Economic Research Advisor at the New York Fed. “Still, elevated delinquency rates reveal stress for many households, even amid some moderation in delinquency trends this quarter.”
Mortgage balances increased by $75 billion from the previous quarter and reached $12.59 trillion at the end of September. HELOC balances increased by $7 billion, representing the tenth consecutive quarterly increase since Q1 2022, and stood at $387 billion. Credit card balances increased by $24 billion to $1.17 trillion. Auto loan balances saw a $18 billion increase and stood at $1.64 trillion. Other balances, which include retail cards and other consumer loans, were effectively flat, with a $2 billion increase. Student loan balances grew by $21 billion, and now stand at $1.61 trillion.
The pace of mortgage originations increased slightly from the pace observed in the previous four quarters, with $448 billion of newly originated mortgages in Q3. Aggregate limits on credit card accounts increased modestly by $63 billion, representing a 1.3% increase from the previous quarter. Limits on HELOC increased by $9 billion, the tenth consecutive quarterly increase.
Aggregate delinquency rates edged up from the previous quarter, with 3.5% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency. Delinquency transition rates were mixed. Credit card delinquency rates improved, with 8.8% of balances transitioning to delinquency compared to 9.1% in the previous quarter. Early delinquency transitions for auto loans and mortgages worsened slightly, rising by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively. About 126,000 consumers had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports this quarter, a small decline from the previous quarter.
Household Debt and Credit Developments as of Q3 2024
| Category | Quarterly Change * (Billions $) | Annual Change** (Billions $) | Total As Of Q3 2024 (Trillions $) |
| Mortgage Debt | (+) $75 | (+) $580 | $12.594 |
| Home Equity Line Of Credit | (+) $7 | (+) $38 | $0.387 |
| Student Debt | (+) $21 | (+) $7 | $1.606 |
| Auto Debt | (+) $18 | (+) $49 | $1.644 |
| Credit Card Debt | (+) $24 | (+) $87 | $1.166 |
| Other | (+) $2 | (+) $17 | $0.546 |
| Total Debt | (+) $147 | (+) $778 | $17.943 |
** Change from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024
Flow into Serious Delinquency (90 days or more delinquent)
| Category 1 | Q3 2023 | Q3 2024 |
| Mortgage Debt | 0.72% | 1.08% |
| Home Equity Line Of Credit | 0.41% | 0.43% |
| Student Loan Debt | 0.77% | 0.77% |
| Auto Loan Debt | 2.53% | 2.90% |
| Credit Card Debt | 5.78% | 7.10% |
| Other | 4.96% | 5.50% |
| ALL | 1.28% | 1.68% |
About the Report
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Household Debt and Credit Report provides unique data and insight into the credit conditions and activity of U.S. consumers. Based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data, the report provides a quarterly snapshot of household trends in borrowing and indebtedness, including data about mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans and delinquencies. The report aims to help community groups, small businesses, state and local governments and the public to better understand, monitor, and respond to trends in borrowing and indebtedness at the household level. Sections of the report are presented as interactive graphs on the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report web page and the full report is available for download.
