average amount americans have in credit card debt
As Bloomberg Business notes, this is number has grown $100 billion since 2011, but itâs still less than the $1.02 trillion Americans owed in 2008 before the financial crisis occurred. On average, an American between the ages of 18 and 65 has $4,717 of credit card debt. According to CreditCards.com, the average credit cardâs interest rate is 15%. At the minimum payment of $189, itâll take 10 years and a month to pay off that $4,717. The total payments would amount to $22,869. Thatâs a $18,155 cost for a very small loan.
The 2012 Demos study also found changes from 2008 to 2012 regarding age groups with credit card debt. It found that older Americans on average have the highest credit card debt: people aged 65 or older typically carry $9,300 on their cards, less than a 6 percent reduction from 2008. Demos suggested the high balances were likely because the recession reduced savings and forced those in or near retirement to cut back.
Those aged 25 to 34 showed the best improvements and cut their credit card debt in half. People in this age group had an average debt of less than $5,200 in 2012, compared with more than $10,400 four years earlier.