Federal data show rising credit stress among households struggling to get by
U.S. households that say they are struggling to get by are carrying substantially higher credit-card balances than they did two years earlier, according to a Federal Reserve report released as federal consumer-credit data continue to track pressure across loans and other household obligations.
Average credit-card balances among respondents who said they were finding it difficult to get by increased by more than 35% since 2023, the Federal Reserve said in its Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025. The survey was conducted from Oct. 17 through Oct. 28, 2025, and released May 19, 2026.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau updated its Consumer Credit Trends dashboards on July 22, 2026. The dashboards cover auto, mortgage, student-loan and other consumer-credit trends, using a nationally representative sample of credit records maintained by one of the nationwide consumer reporting agencies.
Payment problems extend beyond credit cards
The Federal Reserve survey found that 23% of adults with student loans had experienced payment difficulty recently. Slightly more than three-quarters of those respondents said the difficulty was related to affordability.
Buy Now, Pay Later products also appeared in the survey’s household-credit findings. Sixteen percent of adults said they had used BNPL products. Among those users, 11% said a payment had triggered an overdraft or nonsufficient-funds fee during the prior year.
Those findings connect short-term borrowing with other household-account pressures. A payment that causes an overdraft or nonsufficient-funds fee can add another cost to a budget that is already under strain, reducing the money available for rent, utilities or other obligations.
Rent and insurance add to household pressure
Housing-related costs were another source of financial difficulty. Twenty-three percent of renters said they had been behind on rent at some point during the prior year, up two percentage points from 2024.
The survey also found gaps in homeowners insurance coverage. Six percent of homeowners reported going without homeowners insurance, and cost was cited by a majority of those respondents. Among homeowners who had insurance, 14% said they struggled to afford their premiums.
Insurance affordability matters even for homeowners who maintain coverage. Premium increases or difficulty making payments can leave families with less financial room for debt payments and other necessities. Going without coverage can also expose a household to larger costs if a covered loss occurs, although the survey figures do not identify the specific consequences for individual homeowners.
A broader view of consumer debt
The Federal Reserve’s May 2026 Financial Stability Report described consumer debt as consisting primarily of student, auto and credit-card loans. In its latest comparison, credit-card balances had edged up, while auto-loan delinquency remained elevated by historical standards.
Taken together, the household survey and credit dashboards offer different views of the same financial landscape. The survey captures how adults describe their ability to manage costs, including rent, insurance and newer borrowing products. The CFPB dashboards track patterns in credit records across major types of consumer debt.
The figures do not establish that one factor, such as inflation or a single policy, caused the increase in credit-card balances. They do show that repayment difficulty is concentrated among people already reporting trouble making ends meet, with pressure appearing across revolving credit, student loans, rent, BNPL payments and insurance.
The next public data point identified by the agencies is the CFPB’s updated Consumer Credit Trends dashboard, now covering the July 22 release. The dashboards provide ongoing tracking of auto, mortgage, student-loan and related consumer-credit trends, while the Federal Reserve’s household survey provides the latest reported measures of people’s financial well-being and payment experiences.
Sources
- Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025, Federal Reserve Board
- Consumer Credit Trends, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Financial Stability Report, May 2026, Federal Reserve Board
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