Original research · New York Fed data
Total household debt by state, 2026
The combined mortgage, auto, credit card, student and other debt the average adult carries in every state, and how it has moved since 2019. Compiled from the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, data through Q4 2025.
Published September 20, 2026 · Download the CSV · How to cite
Key findings
$63,200
Total household debt per adult nationally at the end of Q4 2025, +2.5% in a year and +22.5% since the end of 2019.
$102,400
District of Columbia carries the highest balance per adult. Colorado ($92,690) and California ($87,850) follow.
$37,850
West Virginia has the lowest, 63% below District of Columbia. Mississippi and Arkansas are next lowest.
+37.6%
Idaho saw the fastest growth in total debt since 2019. Utah and Tennessee were next at +34.2% and +33.4%.
19 of 51
States (plus DC) above the national per-adult figure.
Total household 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 $63,200.
Full table: balances and growth by state
Click a column header to sort.
| # | State | Per adult, Q4 2025 | vs 2024 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $102,400 | -1.1% | +15.8% |
| 2 | Colorado | $92,690 | +2.4% | +25.4% |
| 3 | California | $87,850 | +2.2% | +19.7% |
| 4 | Washington | $85,880 | +2.5% | +27.3% |
| 5 | Hawaii | $83,480 | +2.2% | +12.5% |
| 6 | Utah | $83,350 | +3.1% | +34.2% |
| 7 | Maryland | $81,390 | +2.0% | +12.6% |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $77,400 | +1.3% | +18.2% |
| 9 | Virginia | $77,060 | +1.8% | +16.5% |
| 10 | Nevada | $71,260 | +4.0% | +30.0% |
| 11 | Arizona | $70,850 | +4.5% | +30.5% |
| 12 | Oregon | $69,640 | +3.1% | +23.0% |
| 13 | New Jersey | $69,550 | +1.6% | +17.7% |
| 14 | Alaska | $69,460 | +0.8% | +16.5% |
| 15 | Idaho | $69,450 | +4.0% | +37.6% |
| 16 | Connecticut | $67,530 | +1.4% | +12.9% |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $66,480 | +1.4% | +17.4% |
| 18 | Delaware | $66,170 | +3.4% | +19.7% |
| 19 | Minnesota | $63,860 | +1.3% | +15.3% |
| 20 | Georgia | $62,070 | +2.7% | +24.8% |
| 21 | Florida | $61,890 | +3.5% | +30.6% |
| 22 | North Carolina | $61,070 | +3.7% | +29.2% |
| 23 | Rhode Island | $60,090 | -2.0% | +17.4% |
| 24 | Texas | $60,020 | +3.7% | +32.5% |
| 25 | South Carolina | $59,460 | +5.0% | +30.9% |
| 26 | New York | $59,420 | +0.8% | +15.9% |
| 27 | Montana | $58,390 | +2.5% | +25.1% |
| 28 | Wyoming | $57,120 | +3.2% | +19.8% |
| 29 | Tennessee | $56,690 | +3.6% | +33.4% |
| 30 | Illinois | $54,050 | +1.2% | +13.8% |
| 31 | Maine | $53,360 | +2.1% | +22.0% |
| 32 | North Dakota | $53,300 | +1.8% | +17.0% |
| 33 | Vermont | $52,910 | +1.9% | +13.8% |
| 34 | South Dakota | $52,270 | +2.2% | +21.4% |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $50,360 | +1.7% | +15.9% |
| 36 | Nebraska | $49,530 | +1.5% | +19.0% |
| 37 | Missouri | $49,420 | +3.2% | +22.4% |
| 38 | Indiana | $49,330 | +2.7% | +24.7% |
| 39 | New Mexico | $49,260 | +2.8% | +20.1% |
| 40 | Wisconsin | $49,210 | +2.4% | +17.8% |
| 41 | Alabama | $48,910 | +3.8% | +28.7% |
| 42 | Louisiana | $48,250 | +1.8% | +21.4% |
| 43 | Michigan | $48,050 | +2.3% | +19.6% |
| 44 | Iowa | $47,410 | +1.1% | +16.4% |
| 45 | Ohio | $46,780 | +2.2% | +18.6% |
| 46 | Kansas | $46,720 | +3.2% | +20.7% |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $43,170 | +3.1% | +23.0% |
| 48 | Kentucky | $43,160 | +2.3% | +23.6% |
| 49 | Arkansas | $43,090 | +2.8% | +26.9% |
| 50 | Mississippi | $41,450 | +2.8% | +25.1% |
| 51 | West Virginia | $37,850 | +4.4% | +23.8% |
| United States | $63,200 | +2.5% | +22.5% |
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 total debt is growing fastest
Nationally, total household debt per adult moved +22.5% between the end of 2019 and the end of 2025. The fastest growth: Idaho (+37.6%), Utah (+34.2%), Tennessee (+33.4%), Texas (+32.5%) and South Carolina (+30.9%). The slowest: Hawaii (+12.5%), Maryland (+12.6%) and Connecticut (+12.9%).
Over the most recent year alone, South Carolina (+5.0%), Arizona (+4.5%) and West Virginia (+4.4%) moved most, against a national +2.5%.
Because mortgages are roughly two-thirds of all household debt, the total-debt ranking mostly follows house prices. The more useful reading is the gap between a state's total and its mortgage figure, which shows how much is consumer debt at higher rates.
Growth since 2019 is slower for total debt than for card and auto debt alone, because the mortgage share grew slowly after rates rose in 2022. Where total debt has outpaced the national figure, it is usually consumer credit doing the work.
What per-adult figures do and do not mean
These numbers divide total total household debt in each state by the number of adults with an Equifax credit file, including people who carry none. That makes them a good measure of a state's overall debt load, but they understate what an individual borrower typically owes. Total debt is the sum of mortgage, home equity, auto, credit card, student and other consumer debt reported to Equifax.
Related on this site: Credit card debt by state · Debt consolidation with bad credit · Debt payoff calculator.
Methodology
- Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, "State Level Household Debt Statistics 2003-2025", published February 2026, sheet total, based on the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax.
- Per adult means per person aged 18 or older with an Equifax credit file, as defined by the source. 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.
- 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 compilation, 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 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, "Household Debt by State, 2026", https://smartdebtrelief.org/research/household-debt-by-state/. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Download the CSV. For questions about the compilation, email help@smartdebtrelief.org.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the highest total household debt?
District of Columbia has the highest total household debt per adult at $102,400, followed by Colorado ($92,690) and California ($87,850). The national figure is $63,200.
Which state has the lowest total household debt?
West Virginia has the lowest at $37,850 per adult, about 63% below District of Columbia.
What is the average total household debt in the US?
Across all adults with a credit file, total household debt averaged $63,200 at the end of Q4 2025, +2.5% on a year earlier and +22.5% against the end of 2019. This is a per-adult figure that includes people with no total debt at all, so the average among borrowers is higher.
Where does this data come from?
All figures are from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel, a 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. We are not affiliated with the Bank.