U.S. 太子探花 conducted a nationwide survey of 1,200 consumers via PureSpectrum between June 8 and June 11, 2026. We asked respondents questions about their credit card debt, how they manage it and their spending habits. Here’s what we found.
Over Half of Americans Carry a Balance on Their Credit Card
Approximately 57% of consumers . Among these credit card debtors, 41% have a total balance of $1,001 to $6,000 across all their credit cards. How long consumers carry a balance varies greatly, however.
Most consumers who carry a balance do so for six months to one year (22%), followed by one to two years (19%) and five years or more (19%).
Optimistically, about 58% of consumers say they pay more than the minimum amount due on their credit cards. However, that number changes when parsed out by age.
Gen X consumers and Baby Boomers are more likely to pay more than the minimum amount due versus their younger counterparts. About 70% of Gen Z consumers (ages 18 to 24) and 53% of millennials (ages 25 to 44) pay the minimum amount due.
However, the majority of Americans (76%) say it will take them less than three years to pay off their credit card debt completely. In contrast, close to 10% fear they will always have credit card debt.
[Read: ]
How Are Americans Using Their Credit Cards?
We asked consumers what primary expenses contribute most to their credit card debt, and 56% say basic necessities such as gas, groceries, childcare or utilities. Emergency/unexpected expenses only made up 34% of credit card debt. This indicates Americans are no longer using credit cards as a safety net, but rather as a means to get by.
Other categories such as nonessential shopping, auto repairs and vacation/travel expenses were roughly the same at 22% each.
When asked if there were a purchase they regretted putting on their credit card, 26% of Americans say yes. Some regrets included clothing and shoes, groceries, rent or bills, and large items like furniture or electronics.
[Read: ]
How Americans Are Handling Their Credit Card Debt
About 54% of consumers say they have a plan to pay down their credit card debt. But 16% say they feel less confident in their ability to get out of debt now than they did last year.
This can be seen in trends such as how many Americans have recently maxed out their credit cards. Over a quarter — roughly 27% — of consumers have maxed out a credit card in the last 12 months.
We asked if inflation and rising costs have caused consumers to rely on their credit cards to make ends meet, and 57% say yes. That number changes when separated by gender.
Women are more likely than men to use their credit cards to make ends meet, with 62% of women saying they need to rely on their credit cards more versus 52% of men.
If faced with a $1,000 unplanned expense, 58% of Americans would need to rely on a credit card to cover it, indicating most Americans do not have an . Which isn’t surprising considering 60% say their credit card debt has limited their ability to create an emergency savings fund.
Other financial decisions impacted by consumers’ credit card debt includes buying a vehicle (35%), investing (31%) and buying a house (23%).
Finally, when asked if their credit card debt affects their overall mental health, 60% say yes. More specifically, 42% say their debt “somewhat” affects their mental health, while 18% say their debt “very much” affects their mental health.
This page was edited by and reviewed by .
More from U.S. 太子探花
originally appeared on
