Executive Summary
U.S. credit card balances stood at $1.26 trillion in Q2 2026, with another $568 billion in retail-card and consumer-finance balances, according to the New York Federal Reserve Household Debt and Credit Report (Q2 2026, released August 2026). Total household debt was $18.8 trillion. The share of credit card balances 90+ days delinquent was 12.9% in Q2 2026, down slightly from 13.1% in Q1 2026 but still at a level last seen in 2011, as pandemic-era savings buffers eroded and interest rates remained elevated. The Federal Reserve's G.19 release puts revolving consumer credit at $1,354.4 billion in June 2026, growing at a 6.0% annual rate (as revised in the September 8, 2026 release). Across the six states in this study, credit-card balances per consumer with a credit report ranged from $4,160 (North Carolina) to $5,050 (Florida) at the end of 2025 (NY Fed state data, Q4 2025, the latest release covering all six states).
This study draws on NY Fed Consumer Credit Panel (CCP) data, the National Consumer Law Center debt collection guide, FTC Fair Debt Collection Practices Act guidance, and the state statute texts stored with this study.
Key Findings
- U.S. credit-card balances 90+ days delinquent stood at 12.9% in Q2 2026 (13.1% in Q1 2026, the highest since 2011); 4.7% of all household debt was in some stage of delinquency (NY Fed Consumer Credit Panel, Q2 2026).
- A $10,000 credit-card balance at 25% APR, paying the greater of interest plus 1% of the balance or $35 a month (the minimum-payment formula in the CFPB’s 2025 credit card report), takes about 23 years to clear and costs about $19,200 in interest.
- Total debt per consumer at the end of 2025 was highest in the District of Columbia ($102,400), Colorado ($92,690), California ($87,850), Washington ($85,880) and Hawaii ($83,480), the same five places with the highest mortgage debt per consumer (New York Fed state data, Q4 2025).
The State of Consumer Debt in 2026
The arithmetic of minimum payments is unforgiving. Paying the greater of interest plus 1% of the balance or $35 a month (the formula in the CFPB’s worked example), a $10,000 balance at 25% APR takes about 23 years to clear and costs about $19,200 in interest.
On credit cards, the youngest borrowers fall behind most often. In the New York Fed Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, Q2 2026 (August 2026; Page 27 data), the share of credit-card balances that moved into serious delinquency (90 days or more) over the previous four quarters was 10.1% for borrowers aged 18–29 and 8.3% for those aged 30–39, against 7.0% for all ages (New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax).
Table 2 sets out each state's statute of limitations on credit-card debt and its wage garnishment protection.
State-by-State Debt Profile
| State | Credit-Card Balance per Consumer | Total Debt per Consumer (all loan types) | Share of Card Balance 90+ Days Delinquent | Median HH Income | Card Balance as % of Median HH Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $5,050 | $61,890 | 14.9% | $74,568 | 6.8% |
| Texas | $4,620 | $60,020 | 14.2% | $78,476 | 5.9% |
| California | $5,000 | $87,850 | 13.2% | $99,122 | 5.0% |
| Georgia | $4,610 | $62,070 | 13.9% | $77,353 | 6.0% |
| North Carolina | $4,160 | $61,070 | 12.5% | $72,388 | 5.7% |
| Arizona | $4,530 | $70,850 | 13.7% | $79,964 | 5.7% |
| 6-State Average | $4,662 | $67,292 | 13.7% | $80,312 | 5.9% |
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, State Level Household Debt Statistics 2003–2025 (published February 2026; Q4 2025 values, sheets creditcard, total and creditcard_delinq), New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year median household income (table B19013). “Per consumer” is the NY Fed’s per-capita measure, based on people aged 18 and over with an Equifax credit report: it is not per cardholder, per resident or per household. Total debt includes mortgages, auto loans, student loans and credit cards; the NY Fed publishes no “unsecured debt” series by state. The delinquency column is the share of credit-card balances 90 or more days past due. The last column divides the per-consumer card balance by median household income, so it is an indicator, not a household debt-to-income ratio. Each 6-State Average is the simple (unweighted) mean of the six state values shown in its column, rounded half up. The NY Fed’s Q2 2026 quarterly report charts only some states: for the four study states it includes, credit-card balance per consumer in Q2 2026 was $4,620 (Arizona), $4,900 (California), $4,920 (Florida) and $4,530 (Texas); Georgia and North Carolina are not in that report, and the NY Fed notes the two files may not match exactly.
Statute of Limitations and Wage Garnishment by State
| State | SOL on Credit Card Debt | Wage Garnishment Exemption |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 5 years | Head of family: all disposable earnings up to $750/week; above that, unless waived in writing (Fla. Stat. § 222.11) |
| Texas | 4 years | Current wages not subject to garnishment except listed obligations (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28) |
| California | 4 years | At least 80% (withholding capped at the lesser of 20%, or 40% of earnings above 48x state min wage) |
| Georgia | 6 years | 75% or $217.50/wk |
| North Carolina | 3 years | Earnings from the 60 days before the order, if needed for family support (G.S. 1-362) |
| Arizona | 6 years | At least 90% (withholding capped at the lesser of 10%, or the amount above 60× the applicable minimum hourly wage; A.R.S. § 33-1131) |
Source: state statute texts retrieved October 3, 2026 and stored with this study, including Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 706.050 (California wage withholding limit, operative Sept. 1, 2023).
Medical Debt: A Special Case
Medical debt can still appear on credit reports: the 2025 federal rule that would have kept most of it off is no longer in effect. The CFPB issued that rule on January 7, 2025 (90 Fed. Reg. 3276, January 14, 2025). It would have barred credit bureaus from including medical debt on credit reports given to lenders. On July 11, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated and set aside the rule in its entirety (Cornerstone Credit Union League v. CFPB, No. 4:25-cv-16, final judgment). What still applies are the three national credit bureaus’ own reporting policies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, April 11, 2023): since July 1, 2022, medical collection debt paid in full is no longer included on credit reports; the bureaus wait one year, up from six months, before unpaid medical collection debt appears; and medical collection debt with an initial reported balance under $500 has been removed. These are company policies, not law. State laws that limit medical debt on credit reports are also in question: the same court said a state law barring a bureau from reporting coded medical debt would be preempted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (memorandum opinion, July 11, 2025), and in October 2025 the CFPB issued an interpretive rule taking the view that the Act generally preempts state credit-reporting laws (90 Fed. Reg. 48710, October 28, 2025). Status checked October 3, 2026.
| State | Debt collection statute | SOL on Written Contracts | Homestead Exemption | Wage Garnishment Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | FCCPA (Fla. Stat. § 559.55 et seq.; covers creditors collecting their own debts) | 5 years (§ 95.11(2)(b)) | No dollar cap; up to ½ acre in a municipality or 160 acres outside (Fla. Const. art. X, § 4) | Head of family: up to $750/week fully exempt; above that, unless waived in writing (§ 222.11) |
| Texas | Texas Debt Collection Act (Tex. Fin. Code ch. 392) | 4 years (CPRC § 16.004) | No dollar cap; limited by acreage (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 51) | Current wages not subject to garnishment except listed obligations (art. XVI, § 28) |
| California | Rosenthal Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1788 et seq.) | 4 years (CCP § 337) | Greater of $300,000 or the county median home price, capped at $600,000, adjusted for inflation (CCP § 704.730) | At least 80% (see Table 2) |
| Georgia | Federal FDCPA (15 U.S.C. § 1692) | 6 years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24) | $50,000; $100,000 for a married couple's home titled to one spouse (§ 44-13-100, the bankruptcy exemption, as amended by HB 1024, effective July 1, 2026) | 75% or $217.50/wk (federal floor, 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) |
| North Carolina | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-50 et seq. | 3 years (G.S. 1-52) | $35,000 (G.S. 1C-1601(a)(1)) | Earnings from the 60 days before the order, if needed for family support (G.S. 1-362) |
| Arizona | Federal FDCPA; collection agencies licensed (A.R.S. § 32-1001 et seq.) | 6 years (A.R.S. § 12-548) | $400,000, adjusted annually for inflation since 2024 (A.R.S. § 33-1101) | At least 90% (A.R.S. § 33-1131) |
Source: state statute and constitution texts retrieved October 3, 2026 (stored with this study); 15 U.S.C. § 1673.
Data & tools used in this analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
Which states have the highest debt per consumer?
In New York Fed state data for Q4 2025 (published February 2026), total debt per consumer with a credit report was highest in the District of Columbia ($102,400), Colorado ($92,690), California ($87,850), Washington ($85,880) and Hawaii ($83,480); the same five lead on mortgage debt per consumer. Florida ranks 7th of the 50 states and DC for credit-card debt per consumer ($5,050) and 21st for total debt per consumer ($61,890). Nationally, total debt per consumer was $63,200, of which $44,300 was mortgage debt (excluding home equity lines of credit).
How does state law affect debt settlement outcomes?
This study does not measure the effect of state law on settlement results. Table 2 lists each state's statute of limitations and wage garnishment protection, and Table 3 summarizes each state's collection laws.
Methodology
- NY Fed Consumer Credit Panel: Quarterly Household Debt and Credit Report. National headline figures updated 2026-08-23 to the Q2 2026 report (released August 2026): total balances, credit card balances, and percent of credit card balance 90+ days delinquent, read from the report's published data workbook (Page 3 and Page 12 data) on 2026-08-23. Table 1 was re-pulled on 2026-10-03 from the NY Fed’s State Level Household Debt Statistics 2003–2025 workbook (Q4 2025, published February 2026), the latest NY Fed release that covers all six states, and its values replace earlier state figures that did not match that workbook. Per-consumer values are per person aged 18+ with an Equifax credit report. Averages are simple means of the six published state values.
- Federal Reserve G.19 Consumer Credit: September 8, 2026 release (June 2026 as revised) — total consumer credit $5,168.1 billion, revolving $1,354.4 billion. federalreserve.gov/releases/g19, accessed 2026-10-03.
- SOL and exemption data: checked against the state statute and constitution texts on October 3, 2026 (copies stored with this study). When the limitations period starts and what restarts it depend on state law and the account.
Data & citation
Download the dataset (CSV, CC BY 4.0) on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23119289. The deposit carries the state values in Tables 1–3 of this study, with the source, vintage and provenance of each figure.
Suggested citation: Dreamy Leads Research (2026). Household Debt in 2026: State Debt, Income and Collection Protections [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23119289
