13% Carryover More Than $25,000 Each Month While Median Hovers at $6,600
PORT CHARLOTTE, FL (May 31, 2007) According to a new survey released today by CardTrak.com, the median amount of credit card debt carried by Americans is about $6,600 while the mean (or average) credit card debt load is nearly $9,900.
Based on an online poll of slightly more than 55,000 consumers that concluded in April, 61% said they carryover debt each month on their credit cards, while 31% said they pay-off balances monthly and 7% stated they have no credit cards.
Of cardholders carrying debt, over 64% had balances under $10,000. However, an astonishing 13% of the same group said they carry total credit card balances in excess of $25,000.
Robert B. McKinley, head of CardTrak.com, says "While the average working stiff may revolve between $6,000 and $7,000 each month, the nation is bloated with credit card high-rollers who carry five-figure balances."McKinley notes there has been much debate about the definition and calculation of U.S. credit card debt. However, the CardTrak.com poll results confirm the latest industry data.
At the end of 2006, Americans owed $745 billion on general purpose credit cards including $641 billion on VISA®/MasterCard® cards, and $104 billion on American Express®/Discover® cards, according to CardWeb.com (
www.cardweb.com). Consumers also owed an estimated $105 billion on limited purpose cards or store/gas credit cards. In total, American cardholders owed $850 billion on all credit cards as of December 31, 2006, according to CardWeb.com (
www.cardweb.com).
Furthermore, the latest revolving credit figures released by the Federal Reserve show Americans owed $888 billion in March, which includes lines of credit attached to checking accounts.
Of the $850 billion in credit card debt, about 18% is paid-off each month without incurring interest charges and about 3% is revolving business credit card debt, according to CardData (
www.carddata.com). Discounting interest-free and commercial debt, Americans are revolving about $672 billion on all credit cards.
Of the nation's 111 million households, about 7% have no credit cards and 21% do not have a general purpose or major credit card. Discounting those who have no credit cards and those who only have a low balance store or gas credit card, there are 88 million households using credit cards today. Therefore, average credit card debt is $9659 per household ($850 billion/88 million).
If the universe is limited to households that carry balances forward each month, then the assumption could be made that 61% of the 111 million households, or 68 million, revolve their credit card debt monthly. In this calculation the average credit card debt is $9882 per household ($672 billion/68 million).
McKinley says "no matter how you slice or dice it Americans owe a significant amount on their credit cards and with rising interest rates the annual debt service cost per household is now approaching $1500."
Survey results, as well as historical data, is available to qualified members of the news media via CardTrak.com's CardFacts service.
