Squeezed by inflation, more Americans are falling behind on their debts
Credit card and auto loan delinquencies are near historic highs as rising prices leave more people struggling to keep up with payments.
Rising inflation is causing more Americans to struggle with debt payments, according to recent financial data. The share of seriously delinquent auto loan balances has reached a record high, while nearly 13% of credit card balances are seriously past due, close to their 2010 peak. Additionally, the share of households behind on their mortgages reached a six-year high, and student loan delinquencies have also increased.
Almost 9% of U.S. households spent more than 40% of their income on debt repayment in 2025, the highest level since 2010, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances. Many Americans are relying on credit cards to pay for basic needs, and more than half of Americans said inflation was causing them to carry a bigger credit card balance than a year earlier.
The worsening debt situation reflects the impact of inflation on household finances, with wage growth lagging behind inflation and leading to a loss of purchasing power for millions of households.
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