Money

Visualizing the Growth of U.S. Consumer Debt

Published

2 weeks ago

January 30, 2025

Bruno Venditti

Graphics/Design:

Sam Parker

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

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Visualizing the Growth of U.S. Consumer Debt

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American households reached an all-time high debt burden in 2024.

This graphic examines the evolution of auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt, and student loans from 2003 to 2023. The analysis is based on data compiled by The Kaplan Group as of June 2024.

Methodology

The Kaplan Group analyzed State-Level Household Debt Statistics from 2003 to 2023, sourced from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The data includes trends for auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, and student loans. Changes in these debt categories over the last 20 years were calculated, adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Student Loan Surge

After a brief decline following the 2008 subprime crisis, the total debt burden has grown rapidly, far outpacing inflation. According to The Kaplan Group, total household debt has increased by 81.5% since 2003.

While most debt categories have shown moderate growth, student loan debt stands out. It has increased fivefold over the past two decades, representing the most significant surge.

Credit card debt has experienced minimal growth since 2023. In fact, between 2010 and 2016, it was even lower than levels recorded in 2003.

Year	Student Loan	Auto	Mortgage	Inflation	Credit Card
2004	36%	3%	12%	3%	3%
2005	52%	9%	23%	6%	3%
2006	86%	14%	41%	10%	7%
2007	112%	14%	57%	13%	18%
2008	152%	12%	62%	17%	24%
2009	184%	2%	55%	17%	14%
2010	218%	0%	47%	19%	3%
2011	242%	3%	44%	22%	0%
2012	277%	10%	40%	25%	-4%
2013	301%	16%	33%	27%	-8%
2014	324%	26%	33%	29%	-8%
2015	340%	38%	32%	29%	-5%
2016	364%	47%	33%	30%	-1%
2017	384%	53%	39%	33%	5%
2018	408%	59%	42%	36%	9%
2019	420%	64%	47%	39%	15%
2020	426%	68%	52%	41%	0%
2021	432%	76%	64%	47%	3%
2022	432%	85%	76%	59%	18%
2023	430%	91%	80%	66%	33%

Residents of the District of Columbia have the highest average debt, exceeding $100,000, followed by Hawaii and Washington. In contrast, West Virginia residents hold the lowest average debt, at just over $35,000, followed by Mississippi and Arkansas.