NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows total household debt decreased by $13 billion, a 0.1% decrease, in Q2 2026, to $18.8 trillion. The report is based on data from the New York Fed’s nationally representative Consumer Credit Panel. It includes a one-page summary of key takeaways and their supporting data points.
The New York Fed also issued an accompanying Liberty Street Economics blog post examining the current state of credit card delinquency and explaining the divergence in credit card delinquency rates measured from credit bureau and lender data.
“Delinquency rates across most products have held steady over the past two years,” said Joelle Scally, Economic Policy Advisor at the New York Fed. “Still, new delinquencies for auto loans and credit cards remain at elevated levels, a trend we’ll continue to monitor.”
Mortgage balances declined by $74 billion in the second quarter and totaled $13.1 trillion at the end of June. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances rose by $13 billion totaling $459 billion, $142 billion above the low reached in Q1 2022. Credit card balances rose by $21 billion and stood at $1.26 trillion, and auto loan balances increased by $28 billion to $1.71 trillion. Student loan balances decreased by $7 billion and stood at $1.65 trillion.
The pace of mortgage originations was largely steady with $505 billion newly originated in Q2 2026. Auto loan originations picked up with $211 billion in new auto loans appearing this quarter. Aggregate limits on credit cards continued to rise, with a $85 billion uptick in the first quarter. HELOC limits rose by $19 billion, continuing an expansion in HELOCs that began in 2022.
Aggregate delinquency rates improved slightly in Q2 2026, with 4.7% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency. Transition into early delinquency rose slightly for auto loans and mortgages but was largely steady for credit cards and “other” debts. Delinquency transitions improved slightly for HELOCs. Transition rates into serious delinquency remained mostly unchanged. Student loan delinquencies were an exception, with the continued impact of the re-reporting of defaulted student debt causing some distortions.
Household Debt and Credit Developments as of Q2 2026
| Category | Quarterly Change * (Billions $) | Annual Change** (Billions $) | Total As of Q2 2026 (Trillions $) |
| Mortgage Debt | (-) $74 | (+) $182 | $13.117 |
| Home Equity Line of Credit | (+) $13 | (+) $48 | $0.459 |
| Student Debt | (-) $7 | (+) $13 | $1.651 |
| Auto Debt | (+) $28 | (+) $58 | $1.713 |
| Credit Card Debt | (+) $21 | (+) $54 | $1.263 |
| Other | (+) $6 | (+) $28 | $0.568 |
| Total Debt | (-) $13 | (+) $383 | $18.771 |
*Change from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026
** Change from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026
Flow into Serious Delinquency (90 days or more delinquent)
| Category1 | Q2 2025 | Q2 2026 |
| Mortgage Debt | 1.29% | 1.52% |
| Home Equity Line of Credit | 1.15% | 1.15% |
| Student Loan Debt | 12.88% | 7.83% |
| Auto Loan Debt | 2.93% | 3.00% |
| Credit Card Debt | 6.93% | 6.97% |
| Other | 5.42% | 5.19% |
| ALL | 2.91% | 2.57% |
About the Report
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Household Debt and Credit Report provides unique data and insight into the credit conditions and activity of U.S. consumers. Based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel , a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data, the report provides a quarterly snapshot of household trends in borrowing and indebtedness, including data about mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans, and delinquencies. The report aims to help community groups, small businesses, state and local governments, and the public to better understand, monitor, and respond to trends in borrowing and indebtedness at the household level. Sections of the report are presented as interactive graphs on the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report webpage and the full report is available for download.
