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tal household debt hit $17.17 trillion in Q1 2024, according to a report from WalletHub.
05/15/2024 12:05 P.M.
1.5 minute read
A new WalletHub study found that U.S. households paid off $135 billion in debt during the first quarter of the year—roughly 48% more than the average for Q1 over the past 20 years.
As a result, U.S. households collectively owed $17.7 trillion to start the second quarter of 2024, roughly $1.14 trillion below WalletHub’s projected breaking point, based on debt levels during the Great Recession.
Key findings from the survey include:
- “The average household owed a total of $147,489 at the end of Q1 2024, which is $13,694 below the all-time high.
- Household mortgage debt decreased by roughly $33 billion in Q1 2024—61% less than last year and the second smallest first-quarter decrease since 2004.
- Total mortgage debt decreased to $12.44 trillion in Q1 2024—roughly $1.31 trillion below the all-time high.
- The average household had $103,752 in mortgage debt at the end of Q1 2024—$14,013 below the record.
- Auto loan debt decreased by $20 billion in Q1 2024—20% more than last year and the fourth consecutive first-quarter pay down.
- The average household’s auto loan balance was $13,476 at the end of Q1 2024—just $423 below the peak from 2020.
- Total student loan debt decreased to $1.6 trillion in Q1 2024—roughly $273 billion below the record.
- Total credit card debt decreased to roughly $1.12 trillion in Q1 2024—$172 billion below the all-time high.
- The average household’s credit card balance was $9,298 at the end of Q1 2024—$1,719 below the record.
- Debt from other sources—including personal loans and retailer financing offers—decreased to roughly $543 billion in Q1 2024, around $283 billion below the record.
- The average household’s balance was $4,528 at the end of Q1 2024, which is 40% below the all-time record.”
WalletHub’s quarterly household debt report is based on analysis of the latest data on consumer finances available from the New York Federal Reserve and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Read more findings from the survey here.
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