How Much Debt Does the Average American Have?
- Debt is very common in the U.S., and having debt isn't inherently bad.
- Determine if your debt is too much by calculating your debt-to-income ratio.
- If you want to make changes, you could choose from several strategies to change your financial direction, including debt consolidation or debt settlement.
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Debt is something most people deal with, even if no one talks about it openly. The average American’s debt was $104,755 in June 2025, according to data from Experian, the credit bureau. Of course, that one simple number covers so many different people, ages, and life circumstances it’s practically impossible to apply to your own situation.
Even if your debt appears typical on paper, numbers don’t tell the whole story. What feels manageable to one person can feel overwhelming to someone else. It all depends on factors like income, family needs, and the kind of debt involved.
Taking a closer look at the numbers may help you gauge where you stand, but only in the context of your life and situation. Use average stats to start thinking about your finances and the steps that could give you more control—and more choices—when it comes to your money.
How Much Debt Does the Average American Have in 2025?
The average $104,755 debt estimate is a big number, but it also includes a huge range of debts. Most people have credit card debt and auto loans, and more than 40% of people have mortgage debt. Add in personal loans and student loans, and it's safe to say debt is a big part of pretty much everyone's daily life.
Your exact debt load may be similar—or it could be quite different. Averages may be helpful for big-picture views, but they can be pretty imprecise when you’re talking about individuals.
Average American Debt by Age
People in different life stages take on different debt loads, and that’s normal. Instead of focusing on the overall average, it could be more useful to compare your debt load to other people of your generation.
Here’s a look at debt broken out by demographic:
Generation Z (18-28): $34,328
Millennials (29-44): $132,280
Generation X (45-60): $158,105
Baby boomers (61-79): $92,619
Silent Generation (80+): $38,460
Most Gen Zers have credit card debt, and about a third have a car loan. Very few (7%) have a mortgage. More millennials have borrowed to reach financial goals: about two thirds have a car loan, and nearly half (45%) have taken out personal loans. More than a third of millennials (37%) have mortgages. In the next age group, a solid half of Gen Xers have a mortgage.
Things start to cool down in your 60s. Slightly more baby boomers have a mortgage (57% vs. 54% of Gen X), but the balances go down. In fact, average balances dip for most types of debt as people age. Mortgage debt remains the largest balance across all generations for those who have one.
How Many Americans Have Debt
Some type of debt is common across all generations, like credit card debt. If you’ve got debt, you’re far from alone.
Here’s the percentage of Americans with different kinds of debt:
Credit card: 95%
Credit card with balance: 79%
Car loan: 61%
Mortgage: 42%
Personal loan: 38%
HELOC: 11%
Student loan: 10%
The youngest Americans carry an average credit card balance of $3,493. The average millennial carries nearly double that amount. The average Gen Xer? Almost three times what Gen Z carries.
Some debt amounts are fairly consistent. Average auto loan balances range from $20,000 to $30,000, and that number holds steady across all generations except Americans over 80, who have auto loan balances in the high teens.
It’s okay to have debt that others in your generation don’t have. There’s no right or wrong age to take on debt. What matters is recognizing when debt is too much to handle.
How to Know If Your Debt Is Too Much
While it could be a useful starting point, whether your debt is in line with the average isn’t what's really important. What matters is whether you can pay your bills and manage other financial goals, like setting aside cash for an emergency and saving for retirement.
If most of your money goes toward debt or you struggle to make minimum payments, you might have too much debt. Another way to measure how affordable your debt is to calculate your debt-to-income ratio.
Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is your total monthly debt (including mortgage or rent) payments divided by your pre-tax monthly income. The higher your ratio, the more you’re probably spending on debt.
Let’s say your monthly debt payments are $1,200 and your monthly income is $3,000. Your DTI would be:
Step 1: $1,200 / $3,000 = 0.40
Step 2: 0.40 x 100 = 40%
In other words, you spend less than half your monthly income before taxes on debt payments.
A general rule of thumb says a good DTI is under 36% because lenders are more likely to approve loans at that threshold. However, the type of debt also matters.
High credit card balances that are accruing interest could create friction and stress. So-called good debt, such as student loans or mortgages, means you can plan for fixed payments that are predictable.
If your debt is too much and you’d like to lower your DTI, you’re in good company. In 2025, paying down debt was the number one financial goal of Americans. You might be able to pay off debt with DIY debt strategies or turn to experts for advice on a path forward.
Ways to Pay Off Debt
No matter how your debt compares to the averages, it could be too much. Happily, you still have the power to change the direction of your financial life. There are a lot of ways to deal with debt, and the best one will depend on your specific situation.
You could try:
Debt snowball or debt avalanche. These DIY repayment strategies help you prioritize debt payments so payoff provides motivation to keep going.
Debt settlement. This is where you negotiate with your creditors to accept less than you owe and forgive the rest of your debt. You can do this yourself, or hire a debt settlement company to negotiate on your behalf.
Debt consolidation. You could take out a new loan to pay off multiple existing debts. It can streamline bill-paying and possibly get you a lower interest rate than you’re paying now.
Debt management plan. This structured repayment plan comes from a credit counseling agency and could help if you need guidance.
No matter which strategy you choose, start by creating or evaluating your budget. You don’t have to be a math whiz to learn to budget. Think of a budget as a spending plan or an add-on to your goal to shut the door on debt.
Learn more: Best Ways to Get Debt Relief
Author Information
Written by
Cole Tretheway
Cole is a freelance writer. He’s written hundreds of useful articles on money for personal finance publications like The Motley Fool Money. He breaks down complicated topics, like how credit cards work and which brokerage apps are the best, so that they’re easy to understand.
Reviewed by
Kimberly Rotter
Kimberly Rotter is a financial counselor and consumer credit expert who helps people with average or low incomes discover how to create wealth and opportunities. She’s a veteran writer and editor who has spent more than 30 years creating thousands of hours of educational content in every possible format.
How much debt is too much?
An important sign that you have too much debt is if you struggle to make your payments from month to month.
Another red flag is if you usually carry a credit card balance. Even if you’re keeping up with your payments, carrying a credit card balance dramatically increases the cost of everything you buy with the card. Look at your total year-to-date interest charges on your next credit card statement and ask yourself if you’d rather have that money in the bank. If the answer is yes, you might have too much credit card debt.
What is considered a high debt load?
A high debt load is any amount of debt that's hard to manage. This varies a lot based on the individual, with some having a lot of credit card debt, while others have a lot of student loan debt.
If you look at the amount of debt you have and you wonder how you’ll ever put it behind you, your debt load might be too high for you.
What is a high debt-to-income ratio?
It depends on the lender and the loan. For an unsecured personal loan, many lenders consider 40% high. But that's not high at all for an FHA home loan. Here's a list of typical maximum DTIs for different types of loans:
Conforming mortgage: 36% to 45% depending on down payment and credit score,
FHA home loan: Up to 57%, but most lenders set their limit lower,
Unsecured personal loan: 40%
Auto loan with credit issues: 50% (with good credit, DTI doesn't matter as much)
Many lending guidelines consider a DTI of 36% or lower to be safe.