Rochester Voice 8:34 a.m.
Saturday, March 7, 2026 8:34 am

With the economy on shaky ground and the Federal Reserve's latest G19 report now available, WalletHub today released its new inflation-adjusted Credit Card Debt Study, which found that consumers added $86 billion in debt during 2025. Key highlights are outlined below.

• Sharp Debt Spike: At $86 billion, the increase in credit card debt during 2025 was around 75% larger than the increase in 2024.
  
• Just Below Peak: Total credit card debt at the end of 2025 was roughly $1.39 trillion on an inflation-adjusted basis, which was about 9% below the record high.
  
• Household Debt Has Some Breathing Room: The average household credit card balance was $11,507 at the end of 2025, after adjusting for inflation. That's $1,596 below the record high.
  
• Early Q1 Returns: Preliminary data for January shows a 0.4% increase in credit card debt compared to the same month last year.
  

See the complete findings of WalletHub's Credit Card Debt Study.


"Credit card debt is surging back in a big way. Consumers managed to keep things together for much of 2025, but the expensive holiday season seemed to have doomed us. We racked up $73 billion in credit card debt during the fourth quarter of the year alone, pushing our total for the year to roughly $86 billion in new debt. It's not too late to turn things around, though. Anyone can make a dent in their debt with some good old-fashioned budgeting, and if you have good credit, you could qualify for a balance transfer credit card offering 0% interest for up to 24 months. But don't procrastinate. If the economy takes a turn for the worse, things will get a lot harder."

- John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor