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Has credit card debt increased about 45% since 2020?

By Tom Kertscher
YES

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.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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