WASHINGTON–American consumers added a total of $398 billion in new debt during Q4 2022, the fourth highest debt build-up for a fourth quarter in the past 20 years and nearly 4.5 times larger than Q4 2021, according to a new analysis.
The numbers, released by WalletHub as part of its latest Household Debt Report, offer insights into how U.S. consumers are faring as inflation continues to remain high.
WalletHub, noting its analysis adjusts data for inflation to accurately show how debt compares to historical levels, said some of the key findings from its latest report include:
- Total household debt grew to $17 trillion in 2022, roughly $1 trillion below WalletHub’s projected “breaking point,” based on debt levels during the Great Recession.
- The average household owed a total of $142,680 at the end of 2022, only $11,710 below WalletHub’s projected breaking point for household finances.
- Household mortgage debt increased by $290 billion in 2022, the second highest annual increase since the end of the Great Recession.
- In Q4 2022, debt from home equity lines of credit (HELOC) increased by $14 billion, the second consecutive increase after a string of 22 consecutive quarterly paydowns.
- Auto loan debt decreased by $106 million in 2022 – the second annual paydown in a row after a decade of increases from 2011 through 2020.
- Total student loan debt decreased by $83 billion in 2022 – the second biggest paydown since 2003.
The full report can be found here.
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