Household Debt Balances Grow Steadily; Mortgage Originations Tick Up in Third Quarter

NEW YORK-The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data today issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows total household debt increased by $197 billion (1%) in Q3 2025, to $18.59 trillion. The report is based on data from the New York Fed's nationally representative Consumer Credit Panel. It includes a one-page summary of key takeaways and their supporting data points.

"Household debt balances are growing at a moderate pace, with delinquency rates stabilizing," said Donghoon Lee, Economic Research Advisor at the New York Fed. "The relatively low mortgage delinquency rates reflect the housing market's resilience, driven by ample home equity and tight underwriting standards."

Mortgage balances grew by $137 billion in the third quarter and totaled $13.07 trillion at the end of September 2025. Credit card balances rose by $24 billion from the previous quarter and stood at $1.23 trillion. Auto loan balances held steady at $1.66 trillion. Home equity line of credit (HELOC) balances rose by $11 billion to $422 billion. Student loan balances rose by $15 billion and stood at $1.65 trillion. In total, non-housing balances rose by $49 billion, a 1.0% increase from Q2 2025.

The pace of mortgage originations increased with $512 billion newly originated in Q3 2025. There was $184 billion in new auto loans and leases appearing on credit reports during the third quarter, a small dip from the $188 billion observed in Q2 2025. Aggregate limits on credit card accounts continued to rise by $94 billion, representing a 1.8% increase from the previous quarter. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) limits rose by $8 billion, continuing the growth in HELOC limits that began in 2022.

Aggregate delinquency rates remained elevated in Q3 2025, with 4.5% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency. Transitions into early delinquency were mixed with credit card debt and student loans increasing, while all other debt types saw decreases. Transitions into serious delinquency mostly increased across debt types, although mortgages saw a slight decrease.

Student Loans

• Outstanding student loan debt stood at $1.65 trillion in 2025Q3.

• Missed federal student loan payments that were not previously reported to credit bureaus between 2020Q2 and 2024Q4 are now appearing in credit reports. Consequently, student loan delinquency rates remained elevated after a sharp rise in the first half of 2025. In 2025Q3, 9.4% of aggregate student debt was reported as 90+ days delinquent or in default, as compared to 7.8% in 2025Q1 and 10.2% in 2025Q2.

• Household Debt and Credit Developments as of Q3 2025

  Category	Quarterly Change * (Billions $)	Annual Change** (Billions $)	Total As of Q3 2025 (Trillions $)
  Mortgage Debt	(+) $137	(+) $478	$13.07
  Home Equity Line of Credit	(+) $11	(+) $35	$0.422
  Student Debt	(+) $15	(+) $47	$1.653
  Auto Debt	(+) $0	(+) $11	$1.655
  Credit Card Debt	(+) $24	(+) $67	$1.233
  Other	(+) $10	(+) $4	$0.550
  Total Debt	(+) $197	(+) $642	$18.585

  *Change from Q2 2025 to Q3 2025
  ** Change from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025

  Flow into Serious Delinquency (90 days or more delinquent)

  Category1	Q3 2024	Q3 2025
  Mortgage Debt	1.08%	1.28%
  Home Equity Line of Credit	0.43%	1.27%
  Student Loan Debt	0.77%	14.26%
  Auto Loan Debt	2.90%	2.99%
  Credit Card Debt	7.10%	7.05%
  Other	5.50%	5.35%
  ALL	1.68%	3.03%

  About the Report

  The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Household Debt and Credit Report provides unique data and insight into the credit conditions and activity of U.S. consumers. Based on data from the New York Fed's Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data, the report provides a quarterly snapshot of household trends in borrowing and indebtedness, including data about mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans, and delinquencies. The report aims to help community groups, small businesses, state and local governments, and the public to better understand, monitor, and respond to trends in borrowing and indebtedness at the household level. Sections of the report are presented as interactive graphs on the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report webpage and the full report is available for download.