WalletHub releases Credit Card Debt study, shows $16 billion increase

The Federal Reserve released its latest Consumer Credit report today at 3 p.m. WalletHub’s inflation-adjusted analysis of the data reveals that consumers added $16 billion in credit card debt during the third quarter of 2025.

Key highlights from WalletHub’s new Credit Card Debt Study are outlined below.

Q3 Improvement: At $16 billion, the increase in credit card debt during Q3 2025 was around 27% smaller than the increase in Q3 2024.
Debt Is Well Below the Peak: Total credit card debt as of Q3 was roughly $1.33 trillion on an inflation-adjusted basis, which was about 13% below the record high.

Household Debt Has Some Breathing Room: The average household credit card balance was around $11,019 at the end of Q3 2025, after adjusting for inflation. That’s $2,065 below the record high.
Early Q4 Returns: Preliminary data for October shows a 0.2% decrease in credit card debt compared to the same month last year.
Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards: The best balance transfer credit cards currently offer 0% APRs for up to 24 months, with no annual fees and low balance transfer fees.

“Consumers are getting their act together ahead of the holidays, like kids on their best behavior with Santa and the Elf on the Shelf watching,” said John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor.

“Not only did we add 27% less debt to our tab in the third quarter this year compared to the same time last year, but preliminary data for October shows a slight reduction in debt year over year. If we can keep this up, it would be great news for the financial health of U.S. households and the economy more broadly. But if history is any indication, we’re in for a massive influx of debt before 2025 comes to a close.”

Click this link to view the entire study.

In Q3 2025, outstanding credit card debt was roughly 1% below the all-time record, without adjusting for inflation.

Total Outstanding Credit Card Debt – NOT Adjusted for Inflation

Source: WalletHub

When adjusting for inflation, outstanding credit card debt as of Q3 2025 was 13% below the all-time record.

Total Outstanding Credit Card Debt – Adjusted for Inflation

Source: WalletHub

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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