Credit card delinquencies in the United States hit 13.12% in the first quarter of 2026, marking the highest level in 15 years and approaching levels not seen since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The share of credit card balances at least 90 days overdue rose 0.82 percentage points from 12.3% in the first quarter of 2025, signaling growing financial stress among a subset of American consumers struggling with elevated interest rates and inflation.
Americans collectively owe $1.25 trillion on credit cards, just below the historic peak, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The average household carries $11,169 in credit card debt, according to WalletHub data cited in USA Today’s reporting.
The delinquency rate now approaches the Great Recession peak of 13.7%, reached in early 2010. Back then, the financial system itself was in crisis. Today, experts argue the situation is more targeted—affecting consumers already in trouble rather than spreading broadly across the economy.
Grace Zwemmer, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told USA Today: “It points to increasing vulnerability among a subset of consumers. It’s not a matter of new consumers falling into delinquency, but rather consumers who are already in delinquency, falling deeper into delinquency.”
Credit card interest rates have remained stubbornly high, averaging 21% in February 2026, up from 14.6% in February 2022, according to Federal Reserve data cited by USA Today. This combination of elevated rates and persistent inflation has made it harder for struggling cardholders to reduce their balances.
Odysseas Papadimitriou, founder and CEO of the personal finance site WalletHub, told USA Today: “There’s no question we are on a concerning trajectory.” He noted that for consumers who fall behind, options to recover are limited. “It’s pointing to the fact that when people get in trouble, there aren’t options for them to get out of trouble,” Papadimitriou said.
However, experts stop short of drawing a direct parallel to 2008. The rate of newly delinquent credit card accounts remains relatively stable, and roughly half of all cardholders pay their balances in full each month, avoiding high interest charges altogether. Mortgage delinquencies, which triggered the 2008 crisis, remain far below crisis-era levels.
Ted Rossman, principal analyst at Bankrate, told USA Today that high delinquency rates likely represent a relatively small number of consumers with large balances they cannot easily repay. “You’re probably not going to be 90 days late over 100 bucks,” Rossman said.
Sources
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Q1 2026 household debt and credit report; 90+ day delinquency rate of 13.12% and total credit card debt of $1.25 trillion
- USA Today — June 12, 2026 article “America has a credit card problem. Is it 2008 all over again?”; expert commentary from Grace Zwemmer (Oxford Economics), Odysseas Papadimitriou (WalletHub), and Ted Rossman (Bankrate); historical delinquency rates and interest rate data
- WalletHub — Average household credit card debt of $11,169
