As families across the country struggle to make ends meet amid a growing affordability crisis, households are increasingly turning to high-cost debt as their last remaining safety net. As a result, Americans owe more credit card debt today than at any point in history and are falling behind on payments at a rate not seen since the aftermath of the Great Recession.1

New consumer credit data analysis2 by The Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers finds that roughly 111 million people—half of all Americans with a credit card and over 40 percent of all U.S. adults—are unable to pay off their credit card bills each month, trapping them in cycles of persistent debt that balloons ever-higher due to record-high, industry-inflated interest rates and predatory fees.3

On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump pledged to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent,4 but his failure to deliver on this promise has benefited Wall Street on the backs of working families. Since President Trump returned to office in January 2025, Americans have paid a total of $240.7 billion in credit card interest charges. This is nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars that families had to give to credit card banks, rather than using it to help pay for the ever-higher cost of groceries, health care, child care, or other rising costs under Trump’s economy.

For every day that Trump fails to deliver on his promise to implement a 10 percent credit card rate cap, American families are accruing an additional $368 million in interest. Since he took office at the start of 2025, Americans have paid $134.5 billion more than they would have under the promised 10 percent cap.

Meanwhile, the affordability crisis is only worsening as rising costs—driven by Trump’s tariffs, tax cuts, and corporate giveaways—push household budgets beyond the breaking point. Rather than reducing the burden on families when borrowers fell behind on payments because of sky-high credit card interest rates, the Trump administration cut back-room deals with banks to preserve high credit card late fees, hand out corporate pardons, and reduce competition in the credit card market, while ultimately failing to rein in high rates.5

New analysis by Protect Borrowers and The Century Foundation reveals:

  • About 111 million Americans—over 40 percent of adults, and half of credit cardholders—cannot afford to pay off their balances and carry more than $1 trillion in credit card debt from month to month. These borrowers are exposed to sky-high interest charges of more than 22 percent on average—nearly double the rate charged just over a decade ago.6 Elevated interest charges only pile upon unaffordable expenses that borrowers are already resorting to credit card debt to help cover.
  • About 68 million Americans—nearly one in three cardholders—are using 30 percent or more of their available credit and defined in this report as “debt-stressed” cardholders.7 Such cardholders carry 63 percent of total credit card debt, or nearly $800 billion, and are significantly more likely to be trapped in cycles of persistent debt and have worse indicators of credit and financial health.8
  • More than 27 million Americans—over one in nine cardholders, and nearly a quarter of those unable to pay off their full balance each month—cannot afford to pay more than the minimum payment due. These cardholders face the highest possible interest burden and may remain in debt for years or decades as a result.9 Based on average outstanding balances, it is estimated that the average debt-stressed cardholder making only the minimum payment would pay $251 per month and over $3,000 per year, while still accruing interest on the remaining 98 percent of their balance and being trapped in persistent debt.
  • Americans’ monthly credit card payments have grown by nearly 40 percent since 2018, a trend that is continuing unabated under President Trump. From 2018 to 2025, the average monthly credit card payment rose by $553, or 38 percent (from $1,441 to $1,994). This growth far outstrips inflation. Since Trump’s inauguration alone, the average annual amount that Americans pay in credit card bills grew by an additional $1,177 (from $22,756 to $23,933). The pace of this growth suggests that, in large part due to soaring interest rates, families today devote more income to credit card payments than at any point in history.
  • A growing share of Americans have maxed out their credit cards. Median utilization rates (or the share of available credit a person has used) among debt-stressed cardholders increased from 63.8 percent to 70.7 percent, from 2018 to 2025. Borrowers with the lowest credit scores—or “deep subprime” borrowers—in particular have maxed out their credit even while opening a record number of new accounts, and had a median utilization rate of 99.2 percent at the end of the first year of the Trump administration. The most financially precarious Americans with credit card debt are already taking on historic levels of debt using other high-cost financial products, including payday loans, earned wage access products, and Rent Now Pay Later or Buy Now Pay Later loans, to stay afloat.10 These families are approaching a potential tipping point as an increasing share are running out of credit and will not be able to pay for basic expenses each month.
  • Borrowers of color are disproportionately falling behind on their credit card payments while using up more of their available credit. As a result, borrowers of color are more likely to be forced to pay sky-high interest rates and seek alternative, potentially more predatory sources of credit. Over one in four Black debt-stressed cardholders are making only the minimum payment, and they have used up over 80 percent of their available credit, even while owing relatively lower balances. Similar trends hold true for Latino/a and Native American borrowers.
  • President Trump has raised late fees for the 30 million Americans who have fallen behind on their credit card bills. Over one in eight cardholders, collectively owing $163.4 billion in delinquent credit card debt, have fallen behind on at least one of their cards.11 As a result of the Trump administration abandoning a rule that would have capped credit card late fees at $8, borrowers who miss credit card payments will typically face monthly late fees of at least $32 per payment, and, if historical trends hold, Americans will pay an extra $10 billion annually in unnecessary late fees.12
  • Overall, Americans owe more credit card debt than at any point in history. About 227 million Americans—comprising over four in five U.S. adults—collectively owe approximately $1.27 trillion in credit card debt. This is the largest volume of outstanding credit card debt ever owed by American families.

Additional analysis of Federal Reserve data reveals that:

  • Credit card banks have more than doubled their profit margins since the financial crisis, by widening the spread between their cost of borrowing and interest rates they charge to cardholders.13 From the start of 2007 to the end of 2025, banks increased their profit margins by over 109 percent. As a result, Americans now pay the most money ever recorded in credit card interest charges and fees.
  • Americans have paid a cumulative total of $2.1 trillion in credit card interest since 2010. This windfall of interest payments is substantially more than the total amount of outstanding student loan debt and the total amount of auto loan debt owed by Americans as of the end of 2025.14 This is also $865.9 billion more than what Americans would have paid under a 10 percent interest rate cap, and $644.6 billion more than under a rate cap of 10 percent above the Federal Funds Rate.
  • Americans have paid $134.5 billion more than what they would have paid under a 10 percent interest rate cap since President Trump took office. For every day that Trump fails to deliver on his promise to implement a 10 percent credit card rate cap, credit card banks charge families an additional $368 million in interest.

Americans Are Drowning in Debt

The Trump administration’s failure to deliver on capping credit card interest rates and decision to instead make numerous moves to enrich Wall Street—from preserving high late fees, to delivering corporate pardons, to approving the seismic Capital One–Discover merger15—could not come at a worse time for working families. Credit cards have never been more expensive, packed with more junk fees, or relied upon more by working Americans to make ends meet.

A record-high 227 million Americans—constituting over four in five U.S. adults—now hold an open credit or retail card account, and collectively owe $1.27 trillion—the highest amount of credit card debt ever recorded.16 Recent research shows that roughly half of cardholders are unable to pay their full credit card bill and carry an outstanding balance from month to month.17 These cardholders are exposed to record-high interest rates that further raise their credit costs. This translates to approximately 111 million people who are trapped in cycles of persistent debt.

Figure 1


Americans are also falling behind on their credit card payments faster than anytime since the aftermath of the Great Recession.18 During the first year of the Trump administration, an additional 1.1 million borrowers became delinquent on at least one credit card (an increase from 28.6 million to 29.8 million), meaning that over one in eight cardholders, collectively owing $163.4 billion in debt, are delinquent.19 These cardholders are also on the hook for over $32 in late fees for each missed payment, and will owe an additional $10 billion annually as a result of the Trump administration abandoning a rule that would have lowered such fees to $8.20

Figure 2


Total national credit card debt reached a record $1.27 trillion by the end of 2025. After a brief decline during the pandemic, balances began a steep climb in 2021 that shows no signs of leveling off. Under the first year of the Trump administration alone, total credit card debt grew by $40 billion or 3.6 percent. This unprecedented peak reflects a growing reliance on high-cost credit as a financial safety net for households managing the affordability crisis.

Figure 3


The number of Americans in the credit card ecosystem has also reached a historic high, with 227 million people holding at least one open account as of December 2025. This constitutes more than four in five U.S. adults and highlights the near-universal reach of the credit card market. Since early 2018, nearly 40 million additional people have taken on credit card debt for the first time, many out of necessity to cover essential costs.

Figure 4


From early 2018 to the end of 2025, the average monthly credit card payment rose by $553, or 38 percent (from $1,441 to $1,994). This growth far outstrips inflation and demonstrates that Americans’ credit card bills are consuming an alarmingly large, growing share of families’ bills each month. Since Trump’s inauguration, the average annual amount Americans paid in credit card bills grew by an additional $1,177 (from $22,756 to $23,933).

Credit card debt is squeezing millions of Americans, but debt-stressed cardholders—defined as individuals whose aggregate credit card utilization rate is 30 percent or higher, a standard industry benchmark for credit health—bear a disproportionate share of that burden.21 Debt-stressed borrowers are highly likely to be carrying a balance and unable to pay their bill in full each month. As of late 2025, this group consists of approximately 68 million people. Despite representing only 30 percent of all cardholders, these debt-stressed cardholders carry 63 percent of the nation’s total credit card debt—nearly $800 billion.22

Figure 5


The average credit card debt per cardholder has also grown significantly over the same period. From 2018 to the end of 2025, the average debt per cardholder grew by $1,324, or 22.7 percent (from $5,836 to $7,161). The growth is even more pronounced for cardholders who have used up a significant share of their available credit and may not pay off their full balance each month. Debt-stressed cardholders owe nearly twice as much as the average cardholder, and their average debt grew nearly twice as fast. From 2018 to the end of 2025, the average debt among debt-stressed cardholders grew by $2,091 (from $10,434 to $12,525)—which is 1.6 times the dollar growth among cardholders generally.

Figure 6


A growing number of Americans are only able to make the minimum payment due each month. From early 2018 to the end of 2025, an additional 6.3 million cardholders’ financial situations declined to the point where they could make only the minimum payment due, constituting a 29.6 percent growth. As of the end of the first year of the Trump administration, 27.5 million cardholders—comprising over one in nine cardholders (12.1 percent)—are making only the minimum payment.

Yet, even these payments can quickly stack up and become unaffordable. Minimum monthly payments are typically 2 percent of a cardholder’s outstanding balance. We estimate that this amounted to $251 among debt-stressed cardholders on average at the end of 2025.23 These cardholders would additionally accrue interest on the remaining 98 percent of their balance, leading to a higher minimum payment the following month. Over the course of a year, debt-stressed cardholders making only the minimum payment would pay an average of over $3,000.24

Banks are making billions of dollars from more Americans taking out credit cards, accruing larger balances, and incurring more interest by only making the minimum payment due. However, the system might soon reach its limit—literally. Debt-stressed Americans are using up a greater share of their available credit, even while banks provide unsolicited credit limit increases.25 The median utilization rate among debt-stressed cardholders grew from 63.8 percent of available credit in early 2018 to 70.7 percent by the end of 2025.

Figure 7


Pushed by the rising costs of rent, groceries, health care, and daily necessities while being squeezed by skyrocketing interest rates, debt-stressed cardholders have used up more of their credit limits than at any point since 2018. Borrowers who fully reach their limits may need to turn to other options to continue making ends meet—but may be unlikely to find alternative financing other than even more expensive and likely predatory options.

Figure 8


When split by credit score, deep subprime debt-stressed cardholders are the closest to reaching their credit limits. Their utilization rates rose from 93.6 percent at the end of 2018 to 99.2 percent by the end of 2025. These same cardholders are also the least likely to be able to find alternative financing from creditors besides payday and predatory lenders, who may charge interest rates that are orders of magnitude higher.

The uptick in utilization rates has occurred even as borrowers applied for additional accounts. Over the first year of the Trump administration, deep subprime debt-stressed cardholders opened 6.4 million accounts, a 23 percent increase over the 5.2 million they opened in 2024. In the final quarter of 2025, deep subprime debt-stressed cardholders opened more accounts than in any other quarter in our study.

Figure 9

All Borrowers Are Struggling, But Borrowers of Color Are Disproportionately Falling Behind

Cardholders of all racial groups are making higher credit card payments, owe more credit card debt, and are using up more of their credit limits. However, Black, Latino/a, and Native American borrowers are more frequently making only the minimum credit card payment due and using up a relatively larger share of their credit limits, even though their average debt and monthly payments are lower compared to other racial groups. These trends reflect that these borrowers of color are disproportionately falling behind on their payments, accruing interest, and more likely to be forced to seek out alternative sources of credit. Disparities in credit card payments and utilization rates also reflect the downstream cash-flow consequences of race-based income and wealth gaps, which stem from both historical and ongoing discrimination in access to credit, housing, employment, education, and other methods of building financial stability. Median Black household wealth remains less than one-tenth ($24,520) of median white household wealth ($250,400),26 while Black and Latino/a Americans earn 78.3 percent and 76.2 percent, respectively, of what white Americans earn.27

Figure 10


Since 2018, monthly credit card payments have increased for cardholders of all racial groups. Asian Americans make the highest monthly credit card payments on average—$2,208 at the end of 2025. They are followed by white borrowers, who paid $1,464 on average. Other borrowers of color have significantly smaller monthly payments. Latino/a borrowers paid $905, Native American cardholders paid $816, and Black cardholders paid $763 at the end of 2025.

Figure 11


Debt-stressed cardholders across all racial groups saw their average credit card debt increase significantly from 2018 to 2025. Black debt-stressed cardholders owe an average of $9,469, and saw their average debts increase by 31 percent or $2,242 since 2018—faster than any other racial group. Meanwhile, white and Asian American debt-stressed cardholders owe more on average, reflecting that they may be able to access more credit and obtain higher credit limits. Asian American debt-stressed cardholders owe the most on average—$16,500—and experienced the second-highest rate of growth in their debts as a group—29.8 percent more than they owed at the end of 2018 ($12,712). White debt-stressed cardholders owe an average of $14,074, or 21.2 percent more than in early 2018 ($11,613). Latino/a and Native American cardholders owed $9,174 and $7,950 at the end of 2025, which are 26.7 percent and 19.7 percent more than what they owed in 2018, respectively.

Figure 12


Even though Black debt-stressed cardholders tend to make a lower monthly payment amount and owe less credit card debt on average compared to white and Asian Americans, they are much less likely to be able to afford more than the minimum payment. Among debt-stressed cardholders, over one in four Black Americans (28.0 percent) are making only the minimum payment, followed by 26.7 percent of Native Americans, 26.2 percent of white Americans, and 23.4 percent of Latino/a Americans. A much lower share of debt-stressed Asian Americans—a little under one in five (18.6 percent)—make only the minimum payment due.

Figure 13


Native American, Black, and Latino/a cardholders are disproportionately closer to using up all their available credit. Native American cardholders are closest to reaching this threshold, with a median utilization rate of 81.2 percent at the end of 2025. They are closely tailed by Black cardholders, who have a median utilization rate of 80.8 percent, followed by Latino/a cardholders (73.9 percent), white cardholders (67.8 percent), and Asian American cardholders (63.7 percent). All groups saw their utilization rates increase during the first year of the Trump administration. However, elevated utilization rates among Native American, Black, and Latino/a cardholders, coupled with their lower outstanding balances and lower monthly payments on average, demonstrate that these cardholders’ credit limits are often significantly lower.

Credit Card Banks Are Raking In Billions

Americans across the board are struggling under the weight of credit card debt. They owe more in outstanding balances, are paying more at the end of each month, and are accruing more interest than at any point in history. Americans are also becoming delinquent on payments at a rate not seen since the aftermath of the Great Recession. Black, Latino/a, and Native American cardholders are falling behind the fastest, and comprise a disproportionate share of Americans who can afford only the minimum payment, are exposed to record-setting interest rates, and are using up an alarming share of available credit.

It didn’t have to be this way. Beyond failing to rein in costs, the Trump administration has also so far failed to rein in credit card banks that are gouging Americans with sky-high interest rates, on top of making billions of dollars in revenue from interchange fees.28 Since the financial crisis, credit card banks have been able to reap record-setting profits by expanding their margins or “spread”—the difference between interest rates that consumers pay on their cards and the actual cost of borrowing for banks, equal to the Federal Funds Rate (FFR).29 Banks had a spread of 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2007, but had methodically expanded it to 17.1 percent by the end of 2025. This was aided by unabated profit margin growth during the first year of the Trump administration. When the FFR fell from 4.7 percent at the end of 2024 to 3.9 percent by the end of 2025, banks kept their APRs high, growing their margins from 16.8 percent to 17.1 percent. In other words, credit card banks increased their margins by over 109 percent, more than doubling their profits, from 2007 to the end of last year.

As a result, banks are reaping massive rewards. Credit card banks make an all-in average return on assets of 6.2 percent—which is five to six times the typical bank return of 1.1 percent.30 However, while banks enjoy billion-dollar windfalls, working families are footing the bill. Using Federal Reserve data, it is estimated that:

  • Since 2010, Americans have paid a cumulative total of $2.1 trillion in credit card interest. This is significantly greater than all outstanding student loan debt and the total amount of auto loan debt owed by Americans, and equal to 7 percent of the U.S. GDP in 2025.31
  • Cumulatively since 2010, Americans have paid $865.9 billion more than they would have under a 10 percent interest rate cap, and $644.6 billion more than under a rate cap of 10 percent above the FFR.
  • Since Trump took office at the start of 2025, Americans have paid a total of $240.7 billion in interest. This is $134.5 billion more than what they would have paid under a 10 percent rate cap.
  • Every day that Trump fails to deliver on his promise of a 10 percent credit card rate cap, Americans are accruing an extra $368 million in credit card interest.

Below is a chart illustrating the significant gaps between what banks have made in interest, what they would have made if they did not continually expand their profit margins over the past decade and a half, and what they would have made under certain rate cap proposals.

Figure 14

Credit Card Debt Fuels the Affordability Crisis

Credit card debt is often the first line of defense for families when life becomes less affordable and incomes fail to rise enough to compensate. But debt does not dissolve financial pressure—it only defers and magnifies it, as interest and fees inflate balances and leave families even more financially vulnerable. Ballooning credit card balances and climbing delinquency rates are a national warning sign: millions of families are on the financial brink, facing skyrocketing bills each month for essential needs such as buying groceries, visiting the doctor, keeping the heat on, or arranging child care, without the means to pay for them.32

The Urban Institute finds that over half of American families are financially insecure and have no income left after paying their bills each month, while research by the Ludwig Institute demonstrates that over half of Americans would not be able to cover a $2,000 emergency.33 Families are increasingly turning to credit card debt to cover both emergency expenses and basic essentials like groceries, gas, rent, car payments, child care, and medical care.34

But rather than helping working families by taking on corporate price-gouging or strengthening programs that help families afford rent and groceries, the Trump administration has instead prioritized issuing corporate tax breaks, slashing social safety net programs, and jacking up the costs of everyday essentials—which will further push millions of Americans deeper into debt.

The Joint Economic Committee estimates that, since Trump took office, Americans have paid more than $1,700 in additional costs due to price increases from tariffs.35 The actual costs borne by families may be even higher when accounting for the many major retailers and corporations that are weaponizing confusion around on-again, off-again tariffs to justify price increases even when they are not subject to them.36 Meanwhile, the One Big Beautiful Bill enacted by Trump and his allies in Congress made sweeping cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and many other safety net programs. These cuts will push 11 million Americans off their health insurance over the next decade and reduce or eliminate SNAP access for 22 million families—all in order to deliver trillions of dollars in tax cuts to billionaires and large corporations.37 This amounts to millions of Americans who will be forced to pay unaffordable medical bills after being kicked off their health insurance, skyrocketing grocery prices without the help of food stamps, and other rapidly escalating costs without a social safety net. With nowhere else to turn, many will resort to high-cost credit card debt.38

Despite promising to do the very opposite during his campaign, President Trump spent his first year in office largely raising credit costs for American families.

Roughly one year ago, the Trump administration gutted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—the agency responsible for enforcing federal consumer laws against credit card companies and financial institutions.39 The Trump administration also raised credit card late fees by abandoning a CFPB rule capping them at $8.40 The move increases costs for American families by $10 billion annually, on top of interest. At the same time, the Trump administration greenlit a seismic merger between Capital One and Discover, paving the way for the company to become both the largest subprime credit card issuer in the world and the only one with its own payment network.41 The Trump administration also delivered corporate pardons to Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—handing billions of dollars back to the very credit card banks that have defrauded Americans and pushed millions deeper into debt, and ensuring that lawsuits for the same violations cannot be revived by a future administration.42

As of the publication of this report, it has been 546 days since Trump first promised on the campaign trail to cap credit card interest rates, 422 days since he took office, and 68 days since his Truth Social post renewing his pledge to cap rates by January 20, 2026.43 Meanwhile, every day that Trump delays, Americans accrue an additional $368 million in interest.

Appendix: Data and Methodology

UC-CCP Analysis

This analysis uses individual-level longitudinal data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP), a 2 percent nationally representative random sample of U.S. adults with credit records. The study period covers Q1 2018 through Q4 2025, providing a view of credit behavior across significant economic shifts, including the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent inflationary periods, and the compounding financial strain brought about by the second Trump administration’s trade and fiscal policies. All aggregate national figures are scaled to reflect the total U.S. adult population with a credit file.

Defining “Debt-Stressed Cardholders” via Utilization Rates

A central component of this analysis is the classification of “debt-stressed cardholders”—individuals who have a utilization rate above 30 percent, which is a standard industry benchmark for credit health.44 Cardholders exceeding this threshold are more likely to be trapped in cycles of persistent debt and high interest outlays, while “transactors” typically maintain low utilization rates by clearing balances before interest accrues. “Debt-stressed cardholders” heavily overlap with, but are technically distinct from, the 110 million cardholders who cannot afford to pay off their balance each month. To identify “debt-stressed cardholders,” for each individual in each quarter, we take the sum of their total outstanding balance on all open credit card tradelines and divide by the sum of their credit limits.

Imputing Total Credit Card Payments

While the UC-CCP captures the actual payment amounts reported by creditors, the dataset contains inherent reporting gaps because some lenders do not provide this specific field. To generate a reliable national estimate of total consumer debt service, we employ a balance-weighted imputation method.

We first establish a “balance coverage ratio” for each quarter by dividing the aggregate balances of accounts that report payment data by the total balances of all credit card accounts in the sample. This ratio—which typically fluctuates between 30 percent and 33 percent—serves as our adjustment factor. By scaling observed payments by the inverse of this ratio, we ensure the final estimates account for the disproportionate impact of high-balance accounts and variations in reporting consistency across lending institutions.

These adjusted monthly totals are then multiplied by three to derive quarterly debt service estimates. Finally, we calculate annual payment sums using a rolling four-quarter summation, where the value reported in Q4 of each year represents the total estimated payments made during that calendar year.

Cumulative Interest Analysis

Our cumulative interest calculations leveraged Federal Reserve data series on the federal funds rate, commercial bank interest rates on credit card accounts assessed interest, and outstanding balances of credit cards and other revolving credit plans.45 We used the aforementioned data series to calculate rate spreads, quarterly interest charged, and projections for quarterly interest charged if spreads from certain periods had been maintained. All calculations use daily compounded interest, approximating with available quarterly data. We do not adjust for net flows from or to new borrowing, repayments, or charge-offs. Due to data discrepancies stemming from credit card balance reporting changes required by the CARD Act of 2009, our earliest estimates of interest paid and alternative projections only extend to 2010 Q2, though we note that significant profit margin expansion began before this date.

For calculating projected quarterly interest, we assume that banks set an interest rate on revolving balances equal to the quarterly base FFR plus the assumed spread (equal to 13.28 percentage points for the comparison period beginning in 2011 Q1, 14.51 percentage points for the COVID-19 comparison period beginning in 2019 Q1, and 10.0 percentage points for the 10 percent plus FFR projection). Our 10 percent rate cap projection uses a flat rate and does not account for FFR variation. Our projected quarterly interest calculations use reported quarterly balances and do not account for increased negative flows from balances due to enhanced repayment activity that would be associated with lower interest rates.

Notes

  1. “Household Debt and Credit Report (Q4 2025),” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, February 2026, https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2025Q4.
  2. This analysis uses data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP), a 2 percent nationally representative sample of U.S. adults with credit records. We thank the California Policy Lab for hosting and documenting the UC-CCP.
  3. Authors’ estimate based on scaling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finding that approximately 49 percent of active credit card accounts carry a revolving balance to the the authors’ analysis of the UC-CCP, which identifies 227 million Americans with at least one open credit card account as of late 2025. This population (approximately 111 million) constitutes over 40 percent of all U.S. adults (which stood at approximately 270 million in July 2025). Quarterly shares of accounts revolving were derived from the CFPB’s December 2025 report, “The Consumer Credit Card Market,” which has quarterly data from 2019 to 2024 (available at https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2025.pdf#page=73.25). Shares for 2018 and 2025 were imputed using the four-quarter average of the prior or subsequent available year (2019 and 2024, respectively). See also “National Population by Characteristics: 2020–2025, Population Estimates by Age (18+): July 1, 2025,” U.S. Census Bureau, January 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2025/state/detail/SCPRC-EST2025-18+POP.xlsx.
  4. Michael Stratford, “Trump pitches 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates,” POLITICO Pro, September 19, 2024, https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2024/09/trump-pitches-10-percent-cap-on-credit-card-interest-rates-00180071.
  5. Stacy Cowley, “Court Scraps $8 Credit Card Late Fee Limit, at Consumer Bureau’s Request,” New York Times, April 16, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/business/credit-card-late-fee-limit-cfpb.html; “Memorandum re: Dismissed/Terminated CFPB Enforcement Actions,” Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Federation of America, May 22, 2025, rev. May 28, 2025, https://consumerfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CFPB-Pending-Enforcement-Actions-v2-Fellows-1.pdf; Danielle Kaye, “Merger of Capital One and Discover, Two Credit Card Giants, Wins Approval,” New York Times, April 18, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/business/capital-one-discover-merger.html.
  6. “Commercial Bank Interest Rate on Credit Card Plans, Accounts Assessed Interest (TERMCBCCINTNS),” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed February 2026,  https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TERMCBCCINTNS.
  7. We define a debt-stressed cardholder as anyone with an aggregate credit card utilization rate of 30 percent or higher, a threshold above which borrowers are highly likely to be carrying a balance and unable to pay in full each month. This 30 percent cutoff is a standard industry benchmark for credit health. See, for example, “What Is Credit Utilization?” TransUnion, January 16, 2026, https://www.transunion.com/blog/credit-advice/what-is-credit-utilization-ratio#what-is-a-good-credit-utilization-rate?.
  8. Figures are authors’ calculations based on analysis of the UC-CCP for the fourth quarter of 2025. The population count is the number of cardholders with an aggregate utilization rate of 30 percent or higher; the $800 billion figure is the sum of all outstanding credit card balances carried by this group.
  9. “Report to Congress: The Consumer Credit Card Market,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, October 2023, 71–73,  https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2023.pdf.
  10. For more information, see “What is a payday loan?”  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, May 28, 2024, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-payday-loan-en-1567/; “Earned Wage Payday Loans Compound the Affordability Problem,” National Consumer Law Center, February 10, 2026, https://www.nclc.org/earned-wage-payday-loans-compound-the-affordability-problem/; “Rent Now, Pain Later Report,” Protect Borrowers, February 2026, https://protectborrowers.org/resource/rent-now-pain-later-report/; “American Families Are Trapped in a Cycle of Debt, More Rely on Credit to Cover Rent, Utility Bills, Basic Necessities,” Protect Borrowers, September 9, 2025, https://protectborrowers.org/dfp-groundwork-protectborrowers_debt-poll_sept-2025/.
  11. Authors’ calculations using 2025 Q4 UC-CCP data. The 30 million figure represents the number of cardholders with a delinquency status on at least one credit card account. The $163.4 billion figure is the sum of balances on all delinquent accounts.
  12. “CFPB Bans Excessive Credit Card Late Fees, Lowers Typical Fee from $32 to $8,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, March 5, 2024, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-bans-excessive-credit-card-late-fees-lowers-typical-fee-from-32-to-8/.
  13. Brian Shearer, “What Ever Happened to Usury? The Banks Are Wrong About Credit Card Caps,” In Debt, January 29, 2026, https://indebt.substack.com/p/what-ever-happened-to-usury.
  14. “Household Debt and Credit Report (Q4 2025),” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, February 2026, https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2025Q4.
  15. Stacy Cowley, “Court Scraps $8 Credit Card Late Fee Limit, at Consumer Bureau’s Request,” New York Times, April 16, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/business/credit-card-late-fee-limit-cfpb.html; “Memorandum re: Dismissed/Terminated CFPB Enforcement Actions,” Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Federation of America, May 22, 2025, rev. May 28, 2025, https://consumerfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CFPB-Pending-Enforcement-Actions-v2-Fellows-1.pdf; Danielle Kaye, “Merger of Capital One and Discover, Two Credit Card Giants, Wins Approval,” New York Times, April 18, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/business/capital-one-discover-merger.html.
  16. “Report to Congress: The Consumer Credit Card Market,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, December 2025, 4–5, 18,  https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2025.pdf; “Household Debt and Credit Report (Q4 2025),” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, February 2026, https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2025Q4. Data from the CFPB Credit Card Report of 2025 covers until the end of 2024. The latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Center for Microeconomic Data covers until the end of 2025.
  17. “Report to Congress: The Consumer Credit Card Market,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, December 2025, https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2025.pdf; “Making Ends Meet,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, November 2024, https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_making-ends-meet_2024-11.pdf#page=29.32.
  18. “Household Debt and Credit Report (Q4 2025),” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, February 2026, https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2025Q4.
  19. Authors’ calculations using 2025 Q1 and 2025 Q4 UC-CCP data. The 1.1 million increase reflects the growth in unique cardholders with a delinquency status on at least one credit card account, rising from an estimated 28,645,450 in the first quarter to 29,763,871 in the fourth quarter of 2025.
  20. “CFPB Bans Excessive Credit Card Late Fees, Lowers Typical Fee from $32 to $8,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, March 5, 2024, https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-bans-excessive-credit-card-late-fees-lowers-typical-fee-from-32-to-8/.
  21. “What Is Credit Utilization?” TransUnion, January 16, 2026, https://www.transunion.com/blog/credit-advice/what-is-credit-utilization-ratio#what-is-a-good-credit-utilization-rate?.
  22. Figures are authors’ calculations based on analysis of the UC-CCP for the fourth quarter of 2025. The population count is the number of cardholders with an aggregate utilization rate of 30 percent or higher; the $800 billion figure is the sum of all outstanding credit card balances carried by this group.
  23. Estimated using the average credit card debt among all cardholders and debt-stressed cardholders (see Figure 5).
  24. For simplicity, the example annual aggregate does not account for month-over-month growth due to interest accrual.
  25. According to research by the Federal Reserve, about 12 percent of credit card accounts receive limit increases annually, totaling $160 billion in new available credit each year, which accounts for about half as much additional credit as new account originations. About 80 percent of such increases are initiated by banks rather than requested by consumers. See Vitaly M. Bord et al., “More Credit, More Debt: New Evidence on Automated Credit Decisions,” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 16, 2026, https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/more-credit-more-debt-new-evidence-on-automated-credit-decisions-20260116.html.
  26. Brian Sullivan, Donald Hays, Neil Bennett, “Households With a White, Non-Hispanic Householder Were Ten Times Wealthier Than Those With a Black Householder in 2021,” U.S. Census Bureau, April 23, 2024, https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/04/wealth-by-race.html.
  27. Comparison of median weekly earnings data for working Americans ages 25 and up. See “Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, second quarter 2025 averages, not seasonally adjusted,” U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified July 22, 2025, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t03.htm (archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250727101127/https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t03.htm). Note that this table appears to be regularly updated with new figures; refer to the archival link above for the data used at time of publication. Racial category names reflect those used in the underlying data by the U.S. Department of Labor.
  28. “Credit and Debit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees Totaled $236 Billion in 2024, Over One-Quarter Higher than Previously Reported,” Merchant Payments Coalition, September 9, 2025, https://merchantspaymentscoalition.com/credit-and-debit-card-swipe-fees-totaled-236-billion-2024-over-one-quarter-higher-previously.
  29. “Commercial Bank Interest Rate on Credit Card Plans, Accounts Assessed Interest (TERMCBCCINTNS),” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed February 2026,  https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TERMCBCCINTNS; “Federal Funds Effective Rate (FEDFUNDS),” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed February 2026, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/fedfunds.
  30. Itamar Drechsler et al., “Staff Report No. 1143 Credit Card Banking,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, March 2025, rev. October 2025, 7,  https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr1143.pdf; Brian Shearer, “Capping Credit Card Rates,” Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, September 2025, 16, https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-content/uploads/sites/412/2025/10/01144344/Capping-Credit-Card-Rates.pdf.
  31. “Household Debt and Credit Report (Q4 2025),” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, February 2026, https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2025Q4. GDP figure calculated by dividing $2.0921 trillion in cumulative credit card interest by $29.8397 trillion in 2025 GDP in current prices. See World Economic Outlook Database (queried for United States), International Monetary Fund, accessed February 2026, https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2024/april/weo-report?c=111%2C&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CNGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC%2CPCPIPCH%2CLUR%2CGGXWDG_NGDP%2C&sy=1980&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1.
  32. Julie Margetta Morgan and Rachel West, “The Hidden Costs of Trump’s Economy: Skipped Meals, Rising Debt, and the Impossible Choices Facing American Families,” The Century Foundation, July 31, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/report/the-hidden-costs-of-trumps-economy-skipped-meals-rising-debt-and-the-impossible-choices-facing-american-families/; Angela Hanks and Julie Margetta Morgan, “Survey: The Affordability Crisis Is Here, and It’s Hitting the Working Class the Hardest,” The Century Foundation, December 11, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/report/survey-the-affordability-crisis-is-here-and-its-hitting-the-working-class-the-hardest/; Jeanne Lambrew, “It’s Official: Americans Will Pay Much More for All Types of Health Coverage in 2026—Including Medicare,” The Century Foundation, November 19, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/its-official-americans-will-pay-much-more-for-all-types-of-health-coverage-in-2026-including-medicare/; Julie Margetta Morgan, Mike Pierce, and Eduard Nilaj, “Fueling Debt: How Rising Utility Costs Are Overwhelming American Families,” The Century Foundation, November 17, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/fueling-debt-how-rising-utility-costs-are-overwhelming-american-families/; Laura Valle Gutierrez and Julie Kashen, “Still Unaffordable: Child Care’s Rising Prices, Stretched Supply, and Staffing Shortages,” The Century Foundation, December 10, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/still-unaffordable-child-cares-rising-prices-stretched-supply-and-staffing-shortages/.
  33. Gregory Arcs et al, “Measuring the True Cost of Economic Security: What Does It Take to Thrive, Not Just Survive, in the US Today?” Urban Institute, November 19, 2024, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/measuring-true-cost-economic-security; “Beyond Survival: Analyzing the True Cost of Economic Well-Being,” Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, May 2025, https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63ba0d84fe573c7513595d6e/68213a6dd9b89340782e1f76_MQL%20White%20Paper.pdf.
  34.  Danielle Commisso, “More Than 40% of American Households Rely on Credit Cards to Pay the Bills, Leading to a Vicious Debt Cycle,” Civic Science, October 30, 2024, https://civicscience.com/more-than-40-of-american-households-rely-on-credit-cards-to-pay-the-bills-leading-to-a-vicious-debt-cycle/; Kassandra Martinchek and Dulce Gonzalez, “Many Families Are Taking on Debt to Pay for Groceries,” Urban Institute, May 15, 2024, https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/many-families-are-taking-debt-pay-groceries; Neil Bhutta, “Are Rising Rents Raising Consumer Debt and Delinquency?” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Consumer Finance Institute, November 2023, https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/FRBP/Assets/Consumer-Finance/Briefs/CFIResearchBrief-Bhutta-Nov-2023.pdf; Michael Karpman, Fredric Blavin, and Dulce Gonzalez, “How Many Adults Have Past-Due Medical Bills on Credit Cards?” Urban Institute, September 2023, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/How%20Many%20Adults%20Have%20Past-Due%20Medical%20Bills%20on%20Credit%20Cards.pdf.
  35. “UPDATED DATA: American Families Have Already Paid More Than $1,700 Each in Tariff Costs Since Trump Entered Office,” U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee Democrats, February 20, 2026, https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2026/2/updated-data-american-families-have-already-paid-more-than-1-700-each-in-tariff-costs-since-trump-entered-office.
  36. Emily Peck and Courtenay Brown, “Businesses are raising prices after tariffs—even on unaffected goods,” Axios, June 4, 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/06/04/trump-tariffs-prices.
  37. Jeanne Lambrew and Emma Ford, “States in the Bull’s-Eye of Medicaid Cuts,” The Century Foundation, April 30, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/states-in-the-bulls-eye-of-medicaid-cuts/; Rachel West, “Trump and House Republicans’ Plan to Cut Food Assistance Is Even Worse Than It Seems,” The Century Foundation, March 12, 2025, https://tcf.org/content/commentary/trump-and-house-republicans-plan-to-cut-food-assistance-is-even-worse-than-it-seems/; “Letter re: Estimated Effects on the Number of Uninsured People in 2034 Resulting From Policies Incorporated Within CBO’s Baseline Projections and H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Congressional Budget Office, June 4, 2025, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-06/Wyden-Pallone-Neal_Letter_6-4-25.pdf; Poonam Gupta and Elaine Waxman, “Cuts to SNAP in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Widen the Persistent Gap between Benefits and Food Costs,” Urban Institute, July 16, 2025, https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/cuts-snap-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-would-widen-persistent-gap-between-benefits-and.
  38. Research demonstrates a correlation between cuts to SNAP access and recipients being pushed to seek out new credit. See Samuel Dodini et al., “Financial Repercussions of SNAP Work Requirements,” Journal of Public Economics 229, January 2024, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272723002165.
  39. “The Price of Gutting the CFPB,” Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, February 9, 2026, https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/cfpb_year_in_review_report.pdf.
  40. Stacy Cowley, “Court Scraps $8 Credit Card Late Fee Limit, at Consumer Bureau’s Request,” New York Times, April 16, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/business/credit-card-late-fee-limit-cfpb.html.
  41. Danielle Kaye, “Merger of Capital One and Discover, Two Credit Card Giants, Wins Approval,” New York Times, April 18, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/business/capital-one-discover-merger.html; Shahid Naeem, “Capital One-Discover: A Competition Policy and Regulatory Deep Dive,” American Economic Liberties Project, March 2024, https://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-03-20-Capital-One-Discover-Brief-post-design-FINAL.pdf.
  42. “Memorandum re: Dismissed/Terminated CFPB Enforcement Actions,” Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Federation of America, May 22, 2025, rev. May 28, 2025, https://consumerfed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CFPB-Pending-Enforcement-Actions-v2-Fellows-1.pdf.
  43. Donald J. Trump, [Truth Social Post], Jan. 9, 2026, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115868132990949589.
  44. “What Is Credit Utilization?” TransUnion, January 16, 2026, https://www.transunion.com/blog/credit-advice/what-is-credit-utilization-ratio#what-is-a-good-credit-utilization-rate?.
  45. “Consumer Loans: Credit Cards and Other Revolving Plans, All Commercial Banks (CCLACBM027SBOG),” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed February 2026, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CCLACBM027SBOG; “Commercial Bank Interest Rate on Credit Card Plans, Accounts Assessed Interest (TERMCBCCINTNS),” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed February 2026, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TERMCBCCINTNS; “Federal Funds Effective Rate (FEDFUNDS),” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed February 2026, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/fedfunds. We estimate that any non-credit-card debt included in the CCLACBM027SBOG data series is likely negligible, based on quarterly spot-checking with the estimated revolving balance calculated as a share of total outstanding credit card debt, according to separate data series held by the Federal Reserve. See Brian Shearer, “Capping Credit Card Rates,” Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, September 2025, 20,  https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-content/uploads/sites/412/2025/10/01144344/Capping-Credit-Card-Rates.pdf; “Household Debt and Credit Report (Q4 2025),” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, February 2026, https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2025Q4.

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