What is the average debt by age in the US?

Average debt across all families (including those with none) was $104,600 for households headed by someone under 35, $177,700 at 35-44, $189,900 at 45-54, $132,400 at 55-64, $87,400 at 65-74 and $50,500 at 75 and older, in the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Medians are much lower: among families with debt, the median was $42,700 under 35 and $140,400 at 35-44.

What age group has the most debt?

Families headed by someone aged 35 to 54 carry the most debt, mainly mortgages. At 45-54, 87% of families have some debt and the median among them is about $140,000. Debt falls steadily after 55 as mortgages are paid down.

Is it normal to have debt in your 30s?

Yes. About 87% of families headed by someone aged 35-44 have some debt, and more than half have a mortgage. What matters is the kind of debt and its cost: a mortgage on a home you can afford is very different from a high-rate credit card balance.

How do I know if I have too much debt?

Divide your total monthly debt payments by your gross monthly income to get your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. 36% or less is a common guideline; above 43% is widely treated as high, although some mortgage programs allow more. Any credit card balance you can't pay in full each month is worth tackling first.

Average Debt by Age in the US (2026 Data)

Most American families carry some debt at every age, but the amount and type change a lot over a lifetime: student and car loans early on, mortgages in midlife, and much less by retirement. These figures come from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the most detailed national survey of family balance sheets.

Debt by Age Group

Age of Household Head	Share With Any Debt	Median Debt (Families With Debt)	Average Debt (All Families)
Under 35	86.1%	$42,700	$104,600
35-44	87.3%	$140,400	$177,700
45-54	86.9%	$140,300	$189,900
55-64	77.2%	$90,000	$132,400
65-74	64.8%	$45,000	$87,400
75 and older	53.4%	$36,000	$50,500

Source: Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, public data (2022 dollars). Families grouped by the age of the household head; percentiles computed from the survey's weighted records. Debt includes mortgages, home equity loans, vehicle and student loans, credit card balances and other borrowing.

Averages are pulled up by families with large mortgages, so the median among families with debt is the better guide to what’s typical. Across all families, 77.4% have some debt, and the median among them is $80,200.

Debt by Type and Age

Age of Household Head	Mortgage/HELOC: Share, Median	Student Loans: Share, Median	Vehicle Loans: Share, Median	Credit Card Balance: Share, Median
Under 35	33.1%, $177,000	40.1%, $18,000	39.6%, $14,000	48.5%, $1,700
35-44	53%, $190,000	34.1%, $25,000	43.4%, $16,000	52.6%, $2,900
45-54	55.7%, $190,000	26.4%, $30,000	45.5%, $16,000	57%, $3,000
55-64	48.4%, $125,000	12.9%, $41,000	34.2%, $17,000	44.3%, $3,500
65-74	32.2%, $110,000	5.2%, $39,000	24.4%, $16,000	33.9%, $3,500
75 and older	27.6%, $90,000	2.7%, $25,000	14.4%, $10,000	29.8%, $1,700

Source: Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, public data (2022 dollars). Families grouped by the age of the household head; percentiles computed from the survey's weighted records. Share of families with each type of debt, and the median balance among families that have it. Credit card balances are those still owed after the last payment.

Mortgages are the largest debt by far and peak between 35 and 54, when more than half of families have one.
Student loans are most common under 35, but balances are larger for older borrowers who are still paying, often including Parent PLUS loans taken out for children.
Credit card balances carried from month to month are common at every age; the typical balance is a few thousand dollars.

Debt Relative to Assets

Debt only tells half the story. Assets rise much faster than debt with age, which is why net worth grows even while families carry mortgages:

Age of Household Head	Average Assets	Average Debt	Average Net Worth	Median Net Worth
Under 35	$288,000	$104,600	$183,400	$39,000
35-44	$725,800	$177,700	$548,100	$135,300
45-54	$1,161,100	$189,900	$971,200	$246,700
55-64	$1,696,500	$132,400	$1,564,100	$364,300
65-74	$1,868,100	$87,400	$1,780,700	$410,000
75 and older	$1,670,600	$50,500	$1,620,100	$334,700

Source: Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, public data (2022 dollars). Families grouped by the age of the household head; percentiles computed from the survey's weighted records.

For more on the asset side, see net worth by age.

Healthy Debt Benchmarks

Debt-to-Income Ratio

Add up your monthly debt payments and divide by your gross monthly income:

DTI Ratio	Assessment
Under 20%	Comfortable
20–36%	Manageable for most households
36–43%	Stretched; lenders look more closely
Over 43%	High; hard to add new credit

Common lending guidelines; exact limits vary by lender and loan program.

Debt Payoff Priority

High-interest debt first: credit cards and personal loans charging well above what investments are likely to earn.
Variable-rate and private loans next, since their cost can rise.
Auto and federal student loans at moderate fixed rates on schedule, or faster if you have spare cash.
Mortgage last: it is usually the cheapest debt you have, and paying it early ties up cash in your home.

Part of our net worth guide.

Sources

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Survey of Consumer Finances, 2022” (public data, our calculations) and “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022,” Federal Reserve Bulletin, October 2023. federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm

Written by WealthVieu

WealthVieu researches and writes data-driven personal finance guides using primary sources including the IRS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, and Census Bureau.

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