Original research · New York Fed data
Credit card debt by state, 2026
How much card debt the average adult carries in every state, how fast it has grown since 2019, and where people are falling behind. Compiled from the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, data through Q4 2025.
Published September 19, 2026 · Download the CSV · How to cite
Key findings
$4,350
Credit card debt per adult nationally at the end of Q4 2025, up 4.1% in a year and 28.3% since the end of 2019.
$5,500
District of Columbia carries the highest balance per adult. Alaska ($5,250) and Hawaii ($5,220) follow.
$3,030
Mississippi has the lowest, 45% below District of Columbia. Kentucky and West Virginia are next lowest.
12.4%
Share of US card balances 90+ days late, up from 8.1% at the end of 2019. Nevada is highest at 16.3%.
+39.4%
Nevada saw the fastest growth in card debt since 2019. Florida and South Carolina were next at +35.4% and +35.4%.
20 of 51
States (plus DC) above the national per-adult figure. The distribution is skewed by a handful of high-cost coastal states.
Credit card debt per adult, every state ranked
Balance per adult with a credit file at the end of Q4 2025. The dashed line marks the national figure of $4,350.
Full table: balances, growth and delinquency by state
Click a column header to sort. Delinquency is the share of outstanding card balances 90 or more days past due. Total debt includes mortgage, auto, student and card debt.
| # | State | Card debt per adult | vs 2024 | vs 2019 | 90+ days late | Total debt per adult |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $5,500 | +2.6% | +24.4% | 11.2% | $102,400 |
| 2 | Alaska | $5,250 | +1.5% | +18.2% | 9.8% | $69,460 |
| 3 | Hawaii | $5,220 | +3.8% | +21.7% | 10.2% | $83,480 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $5,160 | +4.2% | +23.7% | 11.4% | $69,550 |
| 5 | Maryland | $5,090 | +3.0% | +23.5% | 11.7% | $81,390 |
| 6 | Nevada | $5,060 | +5.0% | +39.4% | 16.3% | $71,260 |
| 7 | Florida | $5,050 | +4.3% | +35.4% | 14.9% | $61,890 |
| 8 | California | $5,000 | +5.5% | +31.2% | 13.2% | $87,850 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $4,960 | +4.0% | +23.4% | 10.5% | $67,530 |
| 10 | Colorado | $4,910 | +4.0% | +28.5% | 11.1% | $92,690 |
| 11 | New York | $4,820 | +3.7% | +20.2% | 12.9% | $59,420 |
| 12 | Virginia | $4,770 | +3.2% | +19.2% | 9.8% | $77,060 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $4,650 | +4.0% | +23.7% | 10.3% | $77,400 |
| 14 | Washington | $4,640 | +4.3% | +26.8% | 9.3% | $85,880 |
| 15 | Texas | $4,620 | +4.1% | +33.1% | 14.2% | $60,020 |
| 16 | Georgia | $4,610 | +4.1% | +32.9% | 13.9% | $62,070 |
| 17 | Arizona | $4,530 | +5.6% | +30.9% | 13.7% | $70,850 |
| 18 | Delaware | $4,520 | +3.9% | +28.4% | 12.2% | $66,170 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $4,500 | +3.2% | +24.0% | 9.8% | $66,480 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $4,490 | +4.4% | +26.8% | 11.4% | $60,090 |
| 21 | Illinois | $4,260 | +3.1% | +24.9% | 11.6% | $54,050 |
| 22 | Utah | $4,260 | +4.7% | +34.4% | 9.4% | $83,350 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $4,160 | +4.8% | +33.3% | 12.5% | $61,070 |
| 24 | South Carolina | $4,090 | +6.0% | +35.4% | 13.4% | $59,460 |
| 25 | Oregon | $4,030 | +4.4% | +25.9% | 9.5% | $69,640 |
| 26 | Minnesota | $3,990 | +2.8% | +18.0% | 8.6% | $63,860 |
| 27 | Wyoming | $3,990 | +4.5% | +27.5% | 10.5% | $57,120 |
| 28 | North Dakota | $3,970 | +3.1% | +24.1% | 9.0% | $53,300 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $3,950 | +2.6% | +21.2% | 12.3% | $50,360 |
| 30 | Idaho | $3,870 | +3.5% | +32.1% | 9.5% | $69,450 |
| 31 | Montana | $3,850 | +3.8% | +25.8% | 9.8% | $58,390 |
| 32 | Vermont | $3,790 | +4.1% | +21.1% | 9.0% | $52,910 |
| 33 | Maine | $3,760 | +5.0% | +27.0% | 9.8% | $53,360 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $3,710 | +5.7% | +34.4% | 11.6% | $56,690 |
| 35 | Kansas | $3,670 | +3.7% | +25.3% | 10.7% | $46,720 |
| 36 | Michigan | $3,670 | +4.3% | +28.3% | 11.3% | $48,050 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $3,650 | +2.8% | +21.7% | 9.8% | $49,530 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $3,610 | +3.4% | +34.2% | 14.2% | $48,250 |
| 39 | Ohio | $3,560 | +3.2% | +23.2% | 11.1% | $46,780 |
| 40 | Missouri | $3,550 | +3.2% | +26.8% | 11.3% | $49,420 |
| 41 | South Dakota | $3,530 | +3.5% | +18.9% | 9.1% | $52,270 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $3,520 | +3.5% | +23.1% | 11.9% | $49,260 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $3,460 | +2.7% | +27.7% | 13.3% | $43,170 |
| 44 | Indiana | $3,410 | +3.0% | +26.3% | 11.7% | $49,330 |
| 45 | Alabama | $3,400 | +4.6% | +33.3% | 12.2% | $48,910 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | $3,400 | +4.0% | +22.7% | 8.0% | $49,210 |
| 47 | Arkansas | $3,310 | +4.4% | +30.8% | 13.8% | $43,090 |
| 48 | Iowa | $3,250 | +2.5% | +22.6% | 10.3% | $47,410 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $3,180 | +4.6% | +33.1% | 13.7% | $37,850 |
| 50 | Kentucky | $3,140 | +4.0% | +26.6% | 11.8% | $43,160 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $3,030 | +3.1% | +35.3% | 13.4% | $41,450 |
| United States | $4,350 | +4.1% | +28.3% | 12.4% | $63,200 |
Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax, Q4 2025. Per adult with a credit file. Compiled by Smart Debt Relief; not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Where card debt is growing fastest
Nationally, card balances per adult rose 28.3% between the end of 2019 and the end of 2025. That growth was not evenly spread. The Sun Belt led: Nevada (+39.4%), Florida (+35.4%), South Carolina (+35.4%), Mississippi (+35.3%) and Tennessee (+34.4%). These are also states with strong population inflows and above-average housing cost growth over the same period.
The slowest growth was in Minnesota (+18.0%), Alaska (+18.2%) and South Dakota (+18.9%).
Over the most recent year alone, South Carolina (+6.0%), Tennessee (+5.7%) and Arizona (+5.6%) grew fastest, against a national +4.1%.
Where people are falling behind
The share of card balances 90 or more days past due is the clearest stress signal in this dataset. It stood at 8.1% nationally at the end of 2019 and 12.4% at the end of 2025.
The five states with the highest serious-delinquency rates:
- Nevada: 16.3% of balances 90+ days late (card debt per adult $5,060, rank 6 by balance)
- Florida: 14.9% of balances 90+ days late (card debt per adult $5,050, rank 7 by balance)
- Louisiana: 14.2% of balances 90+ days late (card debt per adult $3,610, rank 38 by balance)
- Texas: 14.2% of balances 90+ days late (card debt per adult $4,620, rank 15 by balance)
- Georgia: 13.9% of balances 90+ days late (card debt per adult $4,610, rank 16 by balance)
The five lowest:
- Wisconsin: 8.0%
- Minnesota: 8.6%
- Vermont: 9.0%
- North Dakota: 9.0%
- South Dakota: 9.1%
High balances and high delinquency do not always travel together. District of Columbia has the highest balance per adult but ranks 28 of 51 for delinquency. Nevada ranks 6 by balance but first for delinquency. Balance reflects income and cost of living; delinquency reflects whether that balance is affordable.
What per-adult figures do and do not mean
These numbers divide total card balances in each state by the number of adults with an Equifax credit file, including people who carry no card debt at all. That makes them a good measure of a state's overall debt load, but they understate what an individual borrower who carries a balance typically owes. Surveys of cardholders who carry a balance month to month typically report figures two to three times higher than the per-adult numbers here.
If your own balance is well above your state's figure and you are paying 20% or more in interest, see our guide to debt consolidation loans, use the payoff calculator to see what a fixed-rate loan would change, or read when consolidation is and is not a good idea.
Methodology
- Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, "State Level Household Debt Statistics 2003-2025", published February 2026, based on the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax (a 5% nationally representative sample of credit files; student loan figures use a 1% sample).
- Per adult means per person aged 18 or older with an Equifax credit file, as defined by the New York Fed. Puerto Rico and US territories are excluded by the source.
- Balances are as of Q4 of each year. Year-over-year change compares Q4 2025 with Q4 2024; change since 2019 compares Q4 2025 with Q4 2019.
- Delinquency is the percentage of outstanding credit card balance 90 or more days past due, as reported by the source.
- Rankings and percentage changes were computed by Smart Debt Relief from the source tables. State totals in the source may differ slightly from the New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit because of sampling variation.
Use this data
The underlying figures are published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and remain its data; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Bank. Our own contribution (the selection and compilation of the tables, the computed changes and rankings, the charts and the commentary) is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, so you can reuse the compiled table, charts and CSV in articles, research or classroom material with a link to this page and the source line below. Suggested citation:
Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax, State Level Household Debt Statistics 2003-2025 (February 2026), Q4 2025 figures. Compiled by Smart Debt Relief, "Credit Card Debt by State, 2026", https://smartdebtrelief.org/research/credit-card-debt-by-state/. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Download the CSV (51 rows plus the national line, 13 columns). For questions about the compilation, email help@smartdebtrelief.org.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the highest credit card debt?
District of Columbia has the highest credit card balance per adult at $5,500, followed by Alaska ($5,250) and Hawaii ($5,220). The national figure is $4,350.
Which state has the lowest credit card debt?
Mississippi has the lowest at $3,030 per adult, about 45% below District of Columbia.
What is the average credit card debt in the US?
Across all adults with a credit file, the average credit card balance was $4,350 at the end of Q4 2025, up 4.1% from a year earlier and 28.3% above the end of 2019. This is a per-capita figure that includes people with a zero balance, so the average among people who actually carry card debt is higher.
Where are people falling behind on credit cards the most?
Nevada has the highest share of card balances 90 or more days late at 16.3%, followed by Florida (14.9%) and Louisiana (14.2%). The national rate is 12.4%, up from 8.1% at the end of 2019.
Where does this data come from?
All figures are from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel, a 5% nationally representative sample of Equifax credit files, published as "State Level Household Debt Statistics 2003-2025" in February 2026. We compiled the tables, computed the changes and rankings, and publish the result as a CSV you can reuse with attribution.