US Household Debt Rose to $19.1 Trillion in the Third Quarter as the Delinquency Rate Climbed to 5.0%
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the third quarter of 2026 on November 10. Total household debt expanded by $334 billion, a 1.8 percent increase, to reach $19.1 trillion, while 5.0 percent of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. The report is based on the New York Fed's Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data.
Housing debt accounted for most of the quarterly increase. Mortgage balances rose by $257 billion and totaled $13.4 trillion at the end of September, with $595 billion in newly originated mortgages appearing in the quarter, a notable pickup in origination pace. Home equity line of credit balances rose by $23 billion to $481 billion, the largest quarterly increase observed since 2005, and HELOC limits rose by another $31 billion, continuing an expansion that began in 2022.
Other borrowing grew moderately. Credit card balances rose by $22 billion to $1.29 trillion, and aggregate credit card limits rose by $115 billion. Auto loan balances increased by $21 billion to $1.73 trillion, with $208 billion in new auto loans originated during the quarter. Student loan balances edged up by $5 billion to $1.66 trillion. Total household debt stood $520 billion higher than a year earlier.
Delinquency patterns diverged by loan type. Transition into early delinquency continued to tick up for auto loans and mortgages but improved slightly for credit cards. Transition into serious delinquency, defined as 90 days or more past due, slightly improved for credit cards and student loans, remained flat for auto loans and home equity lines, and worsened for mortgages, with the annualized flow rising to 1.60 percent from 1.28 percent a year earlier, a level the report notes remains low by historical standards.
"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." The quarterly report reflects data through the end of September 2026.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约联邦储备银行总部大楼（33 Liberty Street）。Beyond My Ken 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Federal Reserve Bank of New York headquarters, 33 Liberty Street. By Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
