The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just released new data on household debt, and WalletHub’s inflation-adjusted analysis revealed that while U.S. households owe a record amount in absolute terms ($17.80 trillion) as of Q2 2024, inflation-adjusted total debt barely changed during Q2, increasing by just 0.03% compared to the previous quarter.
WalletHub’s Household Debt Report adjusts data for inflation to provide an accurate comparison against historical levels. You can find key highlights below.
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Q2 Results: Total household debt increased by $5 billion during Q2 2024, in contrast to a decrease of $174 billion in Q2 2023.
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Household Average: The average household owed a total of $148,266 at the end of Q2 2024, which is $13,868 below the all-time high.
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Total Debt-to-Deposits Ratio: Despite increasing recently, the ratio of total household debt to deposits indicates consumers are in good shape, as it's still below pre-Covid levels and roughly 46% lower than its early 2000s peak.
- Total Debt-to-Assets: The ratio between total household debt and assets continues to be at a very healthy level of around 9.8%.
“U.S. households failed an important test during the second quarter of 2024, adding $5 billion in inflation-adjusted debt to break a streak of four consecutive years with declining household debt from Q1 to Q2. Increasing debt, stubborn inflation and record high interest rates give consumers a lot of headwinds as we try to navigate the third and fourth quarters of the year, when we traditionally rack up the most debt.”
- John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor