Household debt rose by $109 billion (0.62%) to $17.80 trillion in Q2 2024. The increase in debt this quarter was largely driven by credit card, mortgage, and auto loan balances.
Credit card balances increased $27 billion (2.42%) to $1.142 trillion. Mortgage balances increased $77 billion (0.62%) to $12.519 trillion. Auto loan balances increased $10 billion (0.62%) to $1.626 trillion. Balances on home equity lines of credit increased $4 billion (1.06%) to $380 billion. Student loan balances decreased $10 billion (-0.63%) to $1.585 trillion. All other debt increased $1 billion (0.18%) to $544 billion.
The chart below shows the total debt balance nationwide by composition in trillions of dollars. The current total is $17.80T, well exceeding the Q3 2008 peak.
Here is a look at the inflation-adjusted picture using the CPI. When adjusting for inflation, the household debt balance drops just below the $18.66T peak Q1 2009.
The next chart drills down into student loan debt and auto loans. Prior to 2010, outstanding auto loan balances were greater than outstanding student loan balances. However, starting in January 2010, the outstanding student loan balance rose at a faster and steadier pace. Over the past few years the student loan balance has been flatting out in large part because of the student loan pause that began at the start of the COVID pandemic.
In Q2 2023, the auto loan balance overtook the student loan balance for the first time in over a decade. However, with the resumption of student loan payments, the student loan balance grew larger once again in Q3 2023. The latest data shows the auto loan balance has again surpassed student loan balance with the current spread at $41 billion.
Again here is an inflation-adjusted version.
Here we include GDP for reference.
Background on the Household Debt and Credit Report
As a result of the housing and mortgage crisis of the Great Recession, economists have been paying more attention to the liabilities portion of household balance sheets. Among the New York Federal Reserve Board's many economic reports is the Household Debt and Credit report, which is released quarterly with data going back to 2003.
Data is collected through the NY Fed's Consumer Credit Panel which is constructed from a nationally representative random sample of Equifax credit report data resulting in a sample size of over 40 million individuals quarterly. Here is some background on the report from the NY Fed:
The large increases in consumer debt and defaults—of mortgage debt in particular—during the Great Recession highlighted the importance of understanding the liabilities reflected on household balance sheets. To that end, one of the CMD’s large data collection projects is the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, which is constructed from a nationally representative random sample of Equifax credit report data. Analysis of this data set is regularly reported in the CMD’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The data set can be used to calculate national and regional aggregate measures of individual- and household-level credit balances, and delinquencies by product type. The Consumer Credit Panel also provides new insights into the extent and nature of heterogeneity of debt and delinquencies across individuals and households.
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