Financial Accounts of the United States (LA154104005.Q) · Households and nonprofit organizations, debt securities and loans owed, end of quarter
How much debt do US households owe?
The debt of households and nonprofit organizations was $21.38 trillion in the quarter ended , up 3.9% from a year earlier.
Debt of households and nonprofit organizations, seasonally adjusted, each quarter
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Debt of households and nonprofit organizations, change from a year earlier, each quarter (ours)
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Each point is one quarter of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the quarter and the value.
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Inspect and compare dates
The newest quarter beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".
| Measure | Latest | The quarter before | A year earlier | Five years earlier | Ten years earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter | |||||
| Debt of households and nonprofit organizations | $21.38 trillion | $21.11 trillion | $20.58 trillion | $17.23 trillion | $14.15 trillion |
| Change over a year | +3.9% | +3.6% | +3.0% | +7.8% | +2.0% |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
Observed .
Right now
The debt of households and nonprofit organizations was $21.38 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, the highest since our record begins in the fourth quarter of 1945.
Over a year it is up 3.9% (ours).
ChangeOurs
| Period | Then | Change |
|---|---|---|
| One quarter | $21.11 trillion in | +1.3% |
| Four quarters | $20.58 trillion in | +3.9% |
| Five years | $17.23 trillion in | +24.0% |
| Ten years | $14.15 trillion in | +51.1% |
In historyOurs
The debt of households and nonprofit organizations of $21.38 trillion in was higher than in 304 of the 304 other quarters since , the same in 0 and lower in 0.
Highest since : $21.38 trillion in . Lowest since : $0.03 trillion in .
AverageOurs
Average since : $5.984 trillion (ours, a plain mean of the 305 quarters).
ComparedOurs
Over a year the debt of households and nonprofit organizations is up 3.9%, which ranks 7 of the 7 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.
The table sets the debt of households and nonprofit organizations beside the sectors of the debt by sector page, by the change over a year in each one's newest quarter.
Understanding the debt of households and nonprofit organizations
Where it stands today
The debt of households and nonprofit organizations was $21.38 trillion in the second quarter of 2026.
What does the debt of households and nonprofit organizations measure?
In the Federal Reserve Board's Financial Accounts of the United States (Z.1), debt is the debt securities and the loans a sector owes. For households and nonprofit organizations that is mortgages, consumer credit (credit cards, car loans and student loans) and other loans such as bank loans and margin loans.
Read more
The Board counts the amount outstanding at the end of each quarter, in the table it calls debt outstanding by sector. The same table has the debt of businesses, governments, financial firms and the rest of the world, which the debt by sector page sets side by side.
What 500metrics adds: the change over a year, the last quarter in which the value was higher and lower, a rank among the sectors of the debt by sector page by that change, and the history since 1945 in one chart and one file.
The numbers behind the chart
What was the debt of households and nonprofit organizations in each quarter?The last ten years, 40 quarters, newest first; the chart and the file have every quarter since 1945 Q4
| Quarter | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| $21.38 trillion | +3.9% | |
| $21.11 trillion | +3.6% | |
| $20.93 trillion | +3.5% | |
| $20.77 trillion | +3.1% | |
| $20.58 trillion | +3.0% | |
| $20.39 trillion | +2.7% | |
| $20.23 trillion | +2.5% | |
| $20.14 trillion | +2.7% | |
| $19.99 trillion | +2.7% | |
| $19.86 trillion | +2.8% | |
| $19.73 trillion | +2.8% | |
| $19.61 trillion | +3.5% | |
| $19.46 trillion | +4.4% | |
| $19.32 trillion | +5.8% | |
| $19.20 trillion | +7.4% | |
| $18.96 trillion | +8.1% | |
| $18.65 trillion | +8.2% | |
| $18.26 trillion | +10.3% | |
| $17.88 trillion | +9.3% | |
| $17.54 trillion | +8.4% | |
| $17.23 trillion | +7.8% | |
| $16.56 trillion | +3.5% | |
| $16.35 trillion | +2.8% | |
| $16.18 trillion | +2.6% |
Show 16 more rows
| Quarter | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| $15.99 trillion | +2.5% | |
| $16.00 trillion | +3.6% | |
| $15.90 trillion | +3.7% | |
| $15.76 trillion | +3.6% | |
| $15.60 trillion | +3.4% | |
| $15.44 trillion | +3.1% | |
| $15.33 trillion | +3.2% | |
| $15.21 trillion | +3.4% | |
| $15.09 trillion | +3.3% | |
| $14.97 trillion | +3.4% | |
| $14.85 trillion | +3.5% | |
| $14.71 trillion | +3.2% | |
| $14.61 trillion | +3.3% | |
| $14.48 trillion | +3.1% | |
| $14.35 trillion | +3.0% | |
| $14.26 trillion | +2.2% |
How does it compare with the sectors of the debt by sector page?Ranked by the change over a year
| Series | Quarter | Value | Change over a year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rest of the world | $8.61 trillion | +13.7% | 1 | |
| Federal government | $34.92 trillion | +9.1% | 2 | |
| Nonfinancial corporate business | $15.70 trillion | +5.4% | 3 | |
| State and local governments | $3.82 trillion | +5.3% | 4 | |
| Nonfinancial business | $23.97 trillion | +5.1% | 5 | |
| Domestic financial sectors | $27.66 trillion | +4.5% | 6 | |
| Households and nonprofit organizations (this page) | $21.38 trillion | +3.9% | 7 |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite
What this number cannot tell you
- Nonprofit organizations are in the total; the Board's quarterly tables do not show households alone.
- Debt is what is owed, not what is paid each month. The value does not say how much of it is past due.
- This is the Board's amount of debt securities and loans. Its total liabilities for households, on the household balance sheet page, also include trade payables and other items, and so are a little larger.
- The Board revises past quarters in later releases; this page always shows the newest release.
- The change over a year is ours, worked out from the Board's values; it is in percent.
Observed . Checked .
How to cite this
Federal Reserve Board, Financial Accounts of the United States (Z.1), Households and nonprofit organizations, debt securities and loans owed, end of quarter, through the second quarter of 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How much debt do US households owe?", https://500metrics.com/debt-by-sector/households.
Can the data be downloaded?debt-by-sector-households.csv
Download the full history as CSV: 305 rows, to , 6,626 bytes.
Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.
Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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