Comparing the Top 2026 Debt Relief Plans

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Americans have a record amount of credit card financial obligation $1.252 trillion, to be specific. This credit card financial obligation data page tracks Americans' credit card use each month.

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While credit card financial obligation tends to rise year over year, it normally falls from Q4 of one year to Q1 of the next. Even with this quarter's reduction, credit card balances have actually increased by $482 billion because Q1 2021, when credit card financial obligation bottomed out at $770 billion during the pandemic.

Americans' charge card financial obligation is $325 billion greater than the pre-pandemic record embeded in Q4 2019, when balances stood at $927 billion. (That's a 35% increase.) Charge card balances have historically rebounded after first-quarter decreases, though future loaning trends will depend upon factors consisting of interest rates, inflation and more comprehensive financial conditions.

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Charge card debt increased progressively up until the financial crisis, then decreased from $866 billion in Q4 2008 to $660 billion in Q1 2013 before resuming its upward trajectory. When the pandemic took hold in 2020, credit card balances plunged once again from $927 billion in Q4 2019 to $770 billion in Q1 2021.

Credit cardholders in Connecticut have the greatest typical charge card financial obligation of any state, according to LendingTree data, while those in Mississippi have the lowest. Source: LendingTree analysis of the anonymized credit reports of more than 400,000 LendingTree users in the 3rd quarter of 2025 and more than 410,000 in Q3 2024.

Joint accounts were divided in half to show shared responsibility between the account holders. LendingTree analysts evaluated anonymized credit report information from Q3 2025 for more than 400,000 LendingTree users to compute these averages and create a list of states with the most debt. The analysis was likewise compared to Q3 2024 information from more than 410,000 reports.

Eleven states had typical balances of at least $9,000. Washington has the fastest-growing card financial obligation in the period evaluated.

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Three other states saw double-digit increases, consisting of South Dakota (up 11.7%), Nebraska (up 11.3%) and Wisconsin (up 10.2%). New Mexico saw the biggest year-over-year reduction in financial obligation, with its residents' financial obligation falling 10.3% from $6,543 to $5,871. In all, seven states saw charge card balances decrease in the previous year.

Fewer than half of adult credit cardholders (45%) carried a balance on a charge card for at least one month in the past year, according to a May 2026 Federal Reserve research study utilizing 2025 information. Paying a charge card balance in complete monthly is the most effective way to prevent interest charges and keep debt from building up.

For all credit cards, the average APR in Q2 2026 was 20.94%. For cards accruing interest, the average in Q2 2026 was 22.15%. For new charge card uses, the average is 23.79%. Average APR, existing card accounts: 20.94% Typical APR, accounts that accrue interest: 22.15% Average APR, brand-new charge card provides: 23.79% The Federal Reserve's G. 19 consumer credit report showed that the average APRs for cards accumulating interest rose to 22.15% in Q2 2026, up from 21.52% in Q1 2026.

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Consumers opening a new credit card account might face greater rates than the averages for existing accounts. The current LendingTree data on credit card APRs reveals that the typical APR with a brand-new credit card deal is 23.79%, with the typical card providing an APR series of 20.18% to 27.41%.

The 23.79% average was unchanged for the second straight month and third in 4. It's the first time considering that LendingTree began tracking card rates month-to-month that they went the same in back-to-back months. That stability is likely the outcome of the Fed leaving rates the same throughout 2026. When the Fed raises or lowers rates, a lot of credit card APRs in the U.S.Anytime the Fed acts next, any movement is most likely to be small, indicating charge card APRs would likely remain raised by historical requirements. And as the chart below programs, APRs can vary substantially by card type. Source: LendingTree evaluation of openly readily available terms for about 220 U.S.Naturally, your best relocation is to make those interest rates a moot point by paying your card debt completely, however that's frequently easier stated than done. Simply 2.92% of Americans' exceptional charge card balances were at least one month overdue in the very first quarter of 2026. According to the most recent delinquency information from the Fed, the 30-day delinquency rate the share of impressive credit card balances that were at least one month overdue dipped to 2.92% in the very first quarter of 2026, the seventh straight quarterly decrease.