U.S. Credit-Card Delinquencies Hit 13 % in Q1 2026, Still Below 2010 Peak

Roughly 13% of the nation’s credit card balance was at least 90 days delinquent in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That figure has not been reached since 2011. 25 trillion.

3% in the first quarter of 2025. 7% recorded in early 2010. The average household owes $11,169 in credit card debt, WalletHub reports.

U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said the data point to increasing vulnerability among a subset of consumers. “It’s not a matter of new consumers falling into delinquency, but rather consumers who are already in delinquency, falling deeper into delinquency,” she said.

Odysseas Papadimitriou, founder and CEO of WalletHub, said the trend shows limited options once people fall behind. “It’s pointing to the fact that when people get in trouble, there aren’t options for them to get out of trouble,” he said. 8% in August 2024 and stood at 21% in February 2026.

Inflation reached levels not seen in 40 years during 2022 and 2023, and interest rates climbed during the same period. The national credit card balance topped $1 trillion in early 2023 after declining through much of 2020 and 2021. Lana Linge, a 29-year-old podcaster, accumulated $40,000 in credit card debt across six cards.

“Inflation had increased . . . and everything cost more,” she said. ” Ted Rossman, principal analyst at Bankrate, said the pattern reflects two distinct groups. “There are a lot of people who pay on time, and there are a lot of people who are super-late,” he said.

He added that consumers with good credit can often move balances to zero-APR cards offering 12- to 24-month promotional periods. The number of delinquent credit card accounts remains relatively stable, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Roughly half of all credit cardholders carry a balance month to month.