HOUSEHOLD DEBT INCREASED MODERATELY; DELINQUENCY TRANSITION RATES REMAIN FLAT

The following information was released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York:

The Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks Center for Microeconomic Data today issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit . The report shows total household debt expanded by $334 billion, a 1.8% increase, in Q3 2026, to $19.1 trillion. The report is based on data from the New York Feds nationally representative Consumer Credit Panel . It includes a one-page summary of key takeaways and their supporting data points.

The New York Fed also issued an accompanying Liberty Street Economics blog post examining differences in the rise in credit card delinquencies by neighborhood income and the role of changing lending standards over the last several years.

Household debt levels rose moderately, led by increases in mortgage and home equity line of credit originations said Donghoon Lee, Economic Research Advisor at the New York Fed. Although delinquency transition rates for housing debts have crept up, the overall credit quality of these loans remains strong.

Mortgage balances rose by $257 billion in the third quarter and totaled $13.4 trillion at the end of September. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances rose by $23 billion totaling $481 billion, the largest increase in HELOC balances observed since 2005. Credit card balances rose by $22 billion and stood at $1.29 trillion, and auto loan balances increased by $21 billion to $1.73 trillion. Student loan balances edged up by $5 billion and stood at $1.66 trillion.

The pace of mortgage originations grew notably with $595 billion newly originated in Q3 2026. Auto loan originations remained at a high rate; there were $208 billion in new auto loans appearing on credit reports during the third quarter. Aggregate limits on credit cards continued to rise, with a $115 billion uptick in the third quarter. HELOC limits rose by $31 billion, continuing an expansion in HELOCs that began in 2022.

Aggregate delinquency rates worsened in Q3 2026, with 5.0% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. Transition into early delinquency continued to tick up for auto loans and mortgages but improved slightly for credit cards. Transition rates into serious delinquency slightly improved for credit cards and student loans, while those for auto loans and HELOCs remained flat. For mortgages, the transition rate into serious delinquency worsened but remains low by historical standards.

Household Debt and Credit Developments as of Q3 2026

Category Quarterly Change * (Billions $) Annual Change** (Billions $) Total As of Q3 2026 (Trillions $)

Mortgage Debt (+) $257 (+) $302 $13.374

Home Equity Line of Credit (+) $23 (+) $59 $0.481

Student Debt (+) $5 (+) $3 $1.656

Auto Debt (+) $21 (+) $79 $1.734

Credit Card Debt (+) $22 (+) $52 $1.285

Other (+) $7 (+) $25 $0.575

Total Debt (+) $334 (+) $520 $19.105

*Change from Q2 2026 to Q3 2026

** Change from Q3 2025 to Q3 2026

Flow into Serious Delinquency (90 days or more delinquent)

Category1 Q3 2025 Q3 2026

Mortgage Debt 1.28% 1.60%

Home Equity Line of Credit 1.27% 1.17%

Student Loan Debt 14.26% 7.72%

Auto Loan Debt 2.99% 3.02%

Credit Card Debt 7.05% 6.87%

Other 5.35% 5.13%

ALL 3.03% 2.64%

About the Report

The Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks Household Debt and Credit Report provides unique data and insight into the credit conditions and activity of U.S. consumers. Based on data from the New York Feds Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data, the report provides a quarterly snapshot of household trends in borrowing and indebtedness, including data about mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans, and delinquencies. The report aims to help community groups, small businesses, state and local governments, and the public to better understand, monitor, and respond to trends in borrowing and indebtedness at the household level. Sections of the report are presented as interactive graphs on the New York Feds Household Debt and Credit Report webpage and the full report is available for download.

1 Rates represent annualized shares of balances transitioning into delinquency. Flow into serious delinquency is computed as the balances that have newly become at least 90 days late in the reference quarter divided by the balances that were current of less than 90 days past due in the previous quarter.

Contact

Connor Munsch

(347) 224-1175

Connor.Munsch@ny.frb.org