Has credit card debt increased about 45% since 2020?
Americans’ credit card debt totaled $1.07 trillion on Aug. 21, 2024, according to Federal Reserve Bank data — 43% higher than the $746 billion on Jan. 20, 2021.
The debt reached a record $1.14 trillion during the second quarter of 2024.
The Wisconsin Republican Party made the credit card claim in a flyer circulated in August as a criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris.
As a comparison to the previous administration, credit card debt increased 17% from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that many people likely paid down balances with federal stimulus payments they received in 2020-21 in response to the pandemic, then card usage increased.
Bankrate, a banking industry publisher, cited near-record credit card interest rates and higher inflation, which led to more credit card use to finance regular spending.