US Household Debt Reaches $19.1 Trillion as Delinquencies Rise to 5%

US household debt rose by $334 billion, or 1.8%, to $19.1 trillion in the third quarter of 2026. Delinquent balances accounted for 5% of debt at the end of September, up from 4.7% in June and 4.5% a year earlier.

By Adam Ujazdowski. Polish original published on 10 November 2026 at 20:37 UTC. English edition published on 10 November 2026.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says mortgage credit quality remains sound, although the share of mortgage balances moving into serious delinquency has increased.

Mortgages account for most of the increase

Total household debt was $520 billion, or 2.8%, higher than a year earlier. Mortgage balances increased by $257 billion in the third quarter to $13.374 trillion. The New York Fed attributes about half of that quarterly increase to balances being brought back into the dataset after a reporting gap in the second quarter.

Mortgage originations, including refinancing, rose from $505 billion in the second quarter to $595 billion in the third. Home equity lines of credit, known as HELOCs, increased by $23 billion, the largest quarterly rise in that category since 2005.

Quarter-end balances in trillions of US dollars. Source: New York Fed. Differences between rounded balances may not match the changes reported by the bank.

Serious delinquency rises on student loans

The New York Fed uses a representative sample of anonymised Equifax credit reports. Its delinquency measure refers to the value of balances classified as overdue. The Fed distinguishes shorter payment delays of 30–59 days and 60–89 days from serious delinquency, which includes balances at least 90 days overdue and debt in the most severe categories, including balances charged off as uncollectible.

The bank separately measures the flow into delinquency: the share of balances that were not seriously delinquent a quarter earlier but have since entered that category. For mortgages, this annualised rate rose from 1.52% in the second quarter to 1.60% in the third, compared with 1.28% a year earlier. The New York Fed says it remains low by historical standards.

For student loans, the share of balances at least 90 days overdue rose from 9.4% in September 2025 to 10.6% in June and 10.9% in September 2026. The flow into new serious delinquency slowed slightly, however: the annualised transition rate fell from 7.83% in the second quarter to 7.72% in the third.

Credit card delinquencies rose faster in lower-income areas

In an analysis published alongside the report on the Liberty Street Economics blog, New York Fed economists found that new serious credit card delinquencies grew fastest in areas with lower average incomes during 2022–2024. The gap relative to higher-income areas remains wider than before the pandemic. The authors suggest that the flow into new credit card delinquency could continue to decline if the economy avoids major shocks.

Separate Federal Reserve data show that required debt payments absorbed 11.11% of households’ disposable income in the second quarter of 2026, down from 11.16% in the preceding quarter. If repayments and interest costs were to rise faster than incomes, households would have less money left to spend. A sustained rise in delinquencies could also prompt banks to increase loan-loss provisions and restrict access to credit.

In the Fed’s October survey, banks reported that overall consumer lending standards were largely unchanged in the third quarter. They nevertheless tightened policies on credit card limits and raised minimum credit score requirements for auto loans.