How to Read the New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report — Balances, Delinquency and Re-reporting
New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 (US debt on credit reports): $19.1 trillion (workbook 19.1047), +$334 billion (+1.8%) q/q, +2.8% y/y (this page's calc); 5.0% delinquent.
Key figures (New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3)
As of 14 November 2026, 00:43 KST (retrieved by this page at that time); latest listed on the agency page at retrieval: the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for 2026:Q3 (released November 2026, 46 pages) and its data workbook, the newest entries on the New York Fed Center for Microeconomic Data data bank page. Primary source: https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/hhdc_2026q3.pdf[1][2][4]
| Indicator (U.S. household debt on consumer credit reports, trillions of dollars unless stated) | Previous: 2026Q2 [2] | Current: 2026Q3 [2] | Change vs previous (this page's subtraction of the workbook values) | Change vs year ago (this page's calculation; 2025Q3 value in brackets) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total debt balance | 18.7705 | 19.1047 | +0.3342 (report: $334 billion, +1.8%) | +0.5197, +2.8% [18.585] | New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 data workbook [2], Page 3 Data |
| Mortgage | 13.117 | 13.374 | +0.257 | +0.302 [13.072] | New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 data workbook [2], Page 3 Data |
| Home equity revolving (HELOC) | 0.4585 | 0.481 | +0.0225 | +0.059 [0.422] | New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 data workbook [2], Page 3 Data |
| Auto loan | 1.713 | 1.734 | +0.021 | +0.079 [1.655] | New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 data workbook [2], Page 3 Data |
| Credit card | 1.263 | 1.285 | +0.022 | +0.052 [1.233] | New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 data workbook [2], Page 3 Data |
| Student loan | 1.651 | 1.6557 | +0.0047 | +0.0027 [1.653] | New York Fed Household Debt and Credit, 2026Q3 data workbook [2], Page 3 Data |
| Share of balances in some stage of delinquency, % (100 minus Current) | 4.73 | 4.96 | +0.23 points (report: 5.0%, up 0.3 points) | +0.48 points [4.48] | New York Fed workbook [2], Page 11 Data |
Comparison basis: balances are trillions of nominal dollars as stored in the workbook (Page 3 Data), used without further rounding; changes subtract those values. The issuer's text uses $19.1 trillion and $334 billion, the page 3 chart label reads $19.11 trillion, and the workbook stores 19.1047; this page leads with $19.1 trillion and marks 19.1047 as the workbook value. The delinquency share is this page's 100 minus the Current share in Page 11 Data. In the rows compared (Page 3 Data, every quarter from 03:Q1 to 26:Q2, all seven columns from Mortgage to Total), no difference was found between the 2026Q2 and 2026Q3 workbooks (this page's check).[1][2][3]
In three lines
1. U.S. household debt on credit reports was $19.1 trillion in 2026Q3 (workbook value 19.1047), up $334 billion (1.8%) from 2026Q2 and 2.8% from a year earlier (this page's calculation).
2. Mortgages rose $0.257 trillion; the report says about half of that increase was re-reporting after a reporting gap in the previous quarter.
3. 5.0% of debt was in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points in the report (0.23 points from the unrounded workbook shares).[1][2]
What the report measures
A sample of credit reports. The report is based on the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, an anonymized sample of Equifax credit reports. The data dictionary says: "The panel is a nationally representative 5% random sample of all individuals with a social security number and a credit report (usually aged 19 and over)." Most charts use a 0.1% sample; new foreclosure and bankruptcy rates use the 5% sample and student loan data a 1% sample, per the data dictionary. The report does not publish margins of error.[1]
What counts as debt. The total debt balance is defined as: "Total balance across all accounts, excluding those in bankruptcy." Loan types are mortgages, home equity revolving lines, auto loans and leases, credit cards, student loans and other loans such as retail and consumer finance. "Per-capita figures are computed by dividing totals for our sample by the total number of people in our sample, so these figures apply to the population of individuals who have a credit report."[1]
A change in credit scores. "Beginning in 2026Q1, the credit score on pages 6,7,8, and 9 of the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit is the VantageScore 4.0." Score-based charts before and after 2026Q1 therefore use different scores.[1]
Reading in pairs
A mortgage jump after a dip. Mortgage balances in the workbook fell from 13.191 in 2026Q1 to 13.117 in 2026Q2 and rose to 13.374 in 2026Q3. The report says: "About half of the increase was due to a re-reporting of balances after a reporting gap in the previous quarter." The workbook still shows the 2026Q2 value unchanged from the previous edition, so quarter-to-quarter changes around 2026Q2 include that reporting effect, by the report's own account; this page does not size it further.[1][2]
5.0% up 0.3 points, or 4.96% up 0.23. The report says: "As of the end of September, 5.0% of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter." From the unrounded workbook shares, 100 minus Current gives 4.96% for 2026Q3 and 4.73% for 2026Q2, a rise of 0.23 points; the report's 0.3 matches the difference between the two shares rounded to one decimal (5.0 and 4.7, this page's rounding).[1][2]
Shares that do not add to 100. In Page 11 Data the delinquency categories for 2025Q3 add to 100.01 rather than 100 (this page's sum), while other recent quarters add to 100; the workbook gives no note on it.[2]
Student loan delinquency. The report says: "The share of student loan balances 90+ days past due (stock delinquency rate) increased to 10.9% , up from the 10.6% observed in 2026Q2." The workbook's Page 12 Data stores 10.92 for 2026Q3 to more decimals and 10.6 for 2026Q2.[1][2]
Dates and next release
Dates kept apart. Data: 2026Q3 (end of September 2026). Report: released November 2026. Previous edition: 2026Q2 workbook, whose latest quarter is 2026Q2.[1][2][3]
Next release. The data bank page lists the reports but gives no date for the 2026Q4 report, so the next release date is not established.[4]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
The New York Fed reports U.S. household debt of $19.1 trillion in 2026Q3, up $334 billion (1.8%) from 2026Q2; the workbook stores 19.1047 and 18.7705 trillion.[1][2] 1 source · authoritative record
Mortgage balances rose by $257 billion to $13.4 trillion in 2026Q3, and the report attributes about half of that increase to re-reporting after a reporting gap in the previous quarter.[1][2] 1 source · authoritative record
The report says 5.0% of outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency at the end of September 2026, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
From 2026Q1 the report's credit-score charts use VantageScore 4.0 instead of Equifax Risk Score 3.0.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
Household debt rose 2.8% from 2025Q3 to 2026Q3 ($0.5197 trillion), and the share in some stage of delinquency rose 0.23 points from 2026Q2 using unrounded workbook shares.[2] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · this page's calculation from the 2026Q3 workbook
In the Page 3 Data rows compared (03:Q1 to 26:Q2, all seven columns), no difference was found between the two editions, including the 2026Q2 mortgage balance the report links to a reporting gap.[2][3] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · this page's comparison of the 2026Q2 and 2026Q3 workbooks
Timeline
- 2026-11
2026Q3 Household Debt and Credit report released: total debt $19.1 trillion.[1]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- How large was the reporting effect in 2026Q2 and 2026Q3 mortgage balances?
- When will the 2026Q4 report be released?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 11/14/2026, 00:43
- Body characters
- 5,928
- Sources
- 4 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 11/14/2026, 00:55
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 11/14/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 11/14/2026 | First version. Read in full the 2026Q3 Household Debt and Credit report, its data workbook, the 2026Q2 data workbook and the data bank page; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text of the document named. | Updated |
| 11/14/2026 | Revised after review: sample sizes are stated as in the data dictionary (0.1% for most charts, 5% for new foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, 1% for student loans) with no published margins of error; the text leads with the issuer's $19.1 trillion, notes the $19.11 trillion chart label and marks 19.1047 as the workbook value without implying that every figure is a rounding of it; the revision statement is narrowed to the Page 3 Data rows compared; the review file records the sheet, row and column of every workbook value used. The press release was not read, so its figure is not cited. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How much household debt is there in the US?
$19.1 trillion in 2026Q3, the latest published quarter at retrieval (report released November 2026); the workbook stores 19.1047 trillion.[1][2]
How much did household debt rise in the third quarter of 2026?
$334 billion, or 1.8%, by the report; about half of the $257 billion mortgage increase was re-reporting after a gap in the previous quarter, according to the report.[1][2]
What share of household debt is delinquent?
5.0% was in some stage of delinquency at the end of September 2026, by the report; from the unrounded workbook shares it is 4.96%.[1][2]
How much student loan debt is there?
$1.66 trillion in 2026Q3, with 10.9% of balances 90 or more days past due, up from 10.6% in 2026Q2, by the report.[1]
Is this the same as the Federal Reserve's household debt in the Financial Accounts?
Not exactly: the 2026 data dictionary says only mortgages and consumer credit are directly comparable, and the New York Fed figures come from a sample of credit reports.[1]
When is the next New York Fed household debt report?
Not established for 2026Q4: the data bank page gives no date for the next report.[4]
Official links
Sources
- [1] Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, 2026:Q3 (Federal Reserve Bank of New York), PDF primary
- [2] Household Debt and Credit Report data, 2026Q3 (hhd_c_report_2026q3.xlsx) primary
- [3] Household Debt and Credit Report data, 2026Q2 (hhd_c_report_2026q2.xlsx) primary
- [4] Center for Microeconomic Data: Data Bank (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) primary