Average Credit Card Statistics

Sometimes it’s good to be below average

If you live in an average American household, then you are likely facing $9,000 of credit card debt at the moment. Of course many people will owe a lot less and just as many will owe a lot more, but when it’s all added up, the amount of total debt in the country is quite staggering. Below are some average credit statistics on American credit trends that were gathered from a variety of online polls.

How Many Debts

Over 80 percent of U.S. households own at least one credit card. The average consumer has between five and 10 cards, and each consumer has an average of 13 outstanding credit obligations on record with credit bureaus. These obligations include a variety of credit cards, including department store, gas station and bank cards. Also included are installment loans such as car payments, mortgages and student loans. The average division is nine different credit cards and four loans. This figure doesn’t include savings and checking accounts.

How Much Owed

Approximately 40 percent of consumers have a credit card balance of less than $1,000. About 15 percent carry total credit card balances of over $10,000. When the total of all credit cards and loans are combined, with the exception of mortgages, about 50 percent of consumers have less than $5,000 of debt. Almost 40 percent of people owe more than $10,000 as reported to the credit bureaus.

Credit Available

The average consumer has access to about $20,000 on all of their credit cards combined. Over 50 percent of people with credit cards are using less than 30 percent of their total card limit, while about 15 percent of people are spending up to 80 percent or more of their credit limit.

Years of Credit History

The average consumer has been borrowing money in one form or another for at least 14 years. Approximately 25 percent of people have been borrowing for 20 years or longer and only five percent of consumers have credit histories that are shorter than two years.

Payment Trends

Less than half of consumers have been reported as making a payment 30 or more days late, indicating that most of us pay our bills on time. However, 30 percent of consumers have been 60 or more days late on a payment. Less than 20 percent of consumers have ever had a loan or account closed by the lender because of default.