US Economy

Total US household debt soars to record above $13 trillion

Key Points
  • Total household debt rose to an all-time high of $13.15 trillion at year-end 2017, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data.
  • The report said it was fifth consecutive year of annual household debt growth with increases in the mortgage, student, auto and credit card categories.
Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The American consumer is loading up on debt.

Total household debt rose by $193 billion to an all-time high of $13.15 trillion at year-end 2017 from the previous quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data report released Tuesday.

Mortgage debt balances rose the most in the December quarter rising by $139 billion to $8.88 trillion from the previous quarter. Credit card debt had the second largest increase of $26 billion to a total of $834 billion.

The report said it was fifth consecutive year of annual household debt growth with increases in the mortgage, student, auto and credit card categories.

The figures are based on a sample of debt and credit records from Equifax data.

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