ABC News and Bloomberg contributed to this report.
American households are carrying more debt than ever.
Total household borrowing – mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and student debt all included – hit a record $18.8 trillion in the first three months of 2026, according to fresh data from the New York Fed. The climb was driven mostly by bigger mortgage balances and more auto debt.
The timing is not great. Inflation is picking up again too, which means families are getting squeezed from both sides: they owe more, and everyday costs are still rising.
Mortgage debt now stands at $13.2 trillion, while auto loans have reached $1.69 trillion. Credit card balances dipped a bit in the quarter, falling by $25 billion to $1.25 trillion, but they are still up $70 billion over the past year.
Student loan debt edged lower to $1.66 trillion, but that does not mean the pressure is easing. More than 10% of student loan balances are now past due, getting close to pre-pandemic levels. That is a red flag, especially for younger borrowers and lower-income households, which New York Fed researchers said are showing some cracks.
On the whole, officials described household credit as stable. But stable is doing a lot of work there.
The debt data lands just as inflation jumped to 3.8% in April, up from 3.3% in March and the highest rate in three years. So yes, people are still borrowing. They are just doing it in a pricier economy, with less room to breathe.
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