Credit card delinquencies in the United States have hit their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis, with 13.12% of credit card balances at least 90 days delinquent in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This marks the worst performance in 15 years, even as Americans carry a combined $1.25 trillion in credit card debt.
The delinquency rate has climbed steadily from 8% in the second quarter of 2023 to 10.7% by the first quarter of 2024, and reached 12.3% by the first quarter of 2025 before jumping to the current level. The trajectory approaches the Great Recession peak of 13.7% reached in early 2010, according to USA Today’s analysis of Federal Reserve data.
Inflation and elevated interest rates are the primary drivers of the crisis. Credit card debt rose sharply in 2022 and 2023 as inflation surged to levels not seen in 40 years, while interest rates climbed. The average interest rate on credit cards shot up from 14.6% in February 2022 to a peak of 21.8% in August 2024, and has remained high at an average of 21% as of February 2026, according to Federal Reserve economic data cited in USA Today’s reporting.
Grace Zwemmer, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told USA Today that the rising delinquency rates point to “increasing vulnerability among a subset of consumers.” She noted it’s “not a matter of new consumers falling into delinquency, but rather consumers who are already in delinquency, falling deeper into delinquency.”
The average household now owes $11,169 in credit card debt, according to WalletHub data cited by USA Today. One 29-year-old podcaster, Lana Linge, found herself with $40,000 in credit card debt across six cards, telling Bankrate’s 2026 Credit Card Debt Report that “inflation had increased … and everything cost more,” forcing her to rely more heavily on plastic.
However, experts caution against drawing a direct parallel to 2008. Odysseas Papadimitriou, founder and CEO of WalletHub, acknowledged the concerning trajectory but noted that “there are a lot of people who pay on time, and there are a lot of people who are super-late,” as Ted Rossman, principal analyst at Bankrate, explained to USA Today. Roughly half of American credit cardholders pay their balance in full every month and avoid interest charges entirely.
Papadimitriou told USA Today that “I don’t think the situation is even close to as dire as it was leading up to the Great Recession,” pointing out that the rate of newly delinquent credit card accounts remains elevated but stable. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that even while delinquent card debt is rising, the number of delinquent accounts remains relatively stable, suggesting the problem is concentrated among a smaller group carrying larger balances.
Sources
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Q1 2026 Household Debt and Credit Report; confirmed 13.12% delinquency rate (90+ days) and $1.25 trillion in credit card balances
- USA Today — “America has a credit card problem. Is it 2008 all over again?” (June 12, 2026); included expert commentary from Grace Zwemmer (Oxford Economics), Odysseas Papadimitriou (WalletHub), and Ted Rossman (Bankrate); reported inflation and interest rate context
- Fisher Investments — “Rising Credit Card Delinquencies in Context” (June 2, 2026); confirmed 13.1% 90-day delinquency rate as 15-year high
- CardRates.com — “Credit Card Delinquency Rate Hits 15-Year High in 2026” (June 9, 2026); confirmed 13.12% delinquency rate in Q1 2026
