How to Read the Fed's Household Debt Service Ratio — Mortgage and Consumer Payments as a Share of Income
The Fed's household debt service ratio: required debt payments were 11.11% of disposable income in 2026:Q2 (mortgage 5.83%, consumer 5.28%), seasonally adjusted.
Key figures (Fed household debt service ratios, release of September 22, 2026)
As of 25 October 2026 (KST); latest release: Household Debt Service Ratios, released by the Federal Reserve Board on September 22, 2026, with data through the second quarter of 2026. The page states: "The release is posted quarterly. The release is not posted on holidays or in the event that the Board is closed." It gives no date for the next release. Primary sources: https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/DSR/ and https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/DSR/about.htm[1]
| Indicator (percent of disposable personal income, seasonally adjusted) | Previous (2026:Q1) | Current (2026:Q2) | Change vs previous | Change vs year ago (2025:Q2) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt service ratio (DSR), total | 11.16 | 11.11 | -0.05 | -0.01 from 11.12 | Fed primary statistical record; change is this page's calculation, in percentage points |
| Mortgage DSR | 5.87 | 5.83 | -0.04 | 0.00 from 5.83 | Fed primary statistical record; change is this page's calculation, in percentage points |
| Consumer DSR | 5.29 | 5.28 | -0.01 | -0.02 from 5.30 | Fed primary statistical record; change is this page's calculation, in percentage points |
Comparison basis: quarterly ratios, seasonally adjusted, published to two decimals and not rounded further here; changes are this page's calculations in percentage points. The current series starts in 2005:Q1; comparisons in this page use only that series. Both documents are Federal Reserve Board publications and count as one Fed primary source.[1][2]
In three lines
1. The debt service ratio is required household debt payments as a share of disposable personal income, split into mortgage and consumer parts that sum to the total.
2. In 2026:Q2 it was 11.11% (mortgage 5.83%, consumer 5.28%), 0.05 percentage points below 2026:Q1 and 0.01 below 2025:Q2 (calculated).
3. The current, credit bureau-based series starts in 2005 and includes mortgage escrow payments; the earlier series used a different method.[1][2]
What the ratio measures (in the Fed's words)
Definition (About page, last update September 25, 2024). "The household debt service ratio (DSR) is the ratio of total required household debt payments to total disposable income." "The mortgage DSR is total quarterly required mortgage payments divided by total quarterly disposable personal income. The consumer DSR is total quarterly scheduled consumer debt payments divided by total quarterly disposable personal income. The mortgage DSR and the consumer DSR sum to the DSR."[2]
Current method. "The current methodology estimates total payments on mortgages, consumer loans (including student loans and automobile loans), and lines of credit using scheduled required payments reported in credit bureau data." "Notably, the current methodology includes escrow payments for mortgage borrowers (i.e., property taxes and insurance if they are bundled into the mortgage payment), whereas the previous methodology did not."[2]
Two series. "Quarterly values for the DSR calculated using the current methodology are available from 2005 forward. Quarterly values for the DSR calculated using a previous methodology are available from 1980 through 2024." Under the earlier approach, "The previous methodology estimated total payments using estimates of outstanding balances, average interest rates, and times until maturity from a variety of data sources and dividing the sum of payments by disposable personal income."[2]
Units. The table reports "Household debt service payments as a percentage of disposable personal income; seasonally adjusted".[1]
Reading in pairs
Mortgage vs consumer. In 2026:Q2 mortgage payments took 5.83% of disposable income and consumer debt payments 5.28%; from 2025:Q2 the mortgage ratio was unchanged and the consumer ratio fell 0.02 percentage points (this page's calculation).[1]
Now vs before the pandemic. The total ratio was 11.73% in 2019:Q4 and 11.11% in 2026:Q2, 0.62 percentage points lower (this page's calculation).[1]
Now vs the range of the current series. By this page's reading of the 86 quarters shown, the highest total ratio was 15.85% in 2007:Q4 and the lowest 9.05% in 2021:Q1; 2026:Q2 is 4.74 percentage points below that high (this page's comparison).[1]
Comparing figures inside the release
Parts vs total. The About page says the two parts sum to the total; in the table, mortgage plus consumer equals the total within 0.01 in every quarter shown, a difference consistent with two-decimal rounding (this page's check).[1][2]
Current vs previous methodology. The About page describes the difference: "Notably, the current methodology includes escrow payments for mortgage borrowers (i.e., property taxes and insurance if they are bundled into the mortgage payment), whereas the previous methodology did not." This page's reading: because the data and methods differ (the previous method did not include mortgage escrow payments), direct comparisons with the previous series (1980 to 2024) that ignore those differences call for caution; this page uses only the current series.[2]
Release timing. The release states only that it is posted quarterly; the September 22, 2026 release carries data through 2026:Q2.[1]
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 household debt service ratio was 11.11% of disposable personal income in 2026:Q2, seasonally adjusted, after 11.16% in 2026:Q1 and 11.12% in 2025:Q2.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The mortgage debt service ratio was 5.83% and the consumer debt service ratio 5.28% in 2026:Q2.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The current debt service ratio series, based on scheduled payments in credit bureau data, starts in 2005 and includes mortgage escrow payments; the previous methodology did not.[2] 1 source · authoritative record
The Household Debt Service Ratios release is posted quarterly; the September 22, 2026 release has data through 2026:Q2.[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.
The total debt service ratio in 2026:Q2 was 0.62 percentage points below its 2019:Q4 level (11.11% vs 11.73%).[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's calculation from the Fed release
Among the 86 quarters in the current series, the total ratio ranged from 9.05% (2021:Q1) to 15.85% (2007:Q4).[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's reading of the Fed release table
Because the data and methods of the current and previous debt service ratio series differ, including the treatment of mortgage escrow payments, direct comparisons that ignore those differences call for caution.[2] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's reading of the Fed About page
Timeline
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.- What explains the small decline from 2026:Q1 to 2026:Q2?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 10/25/2026, 04:43
- Body characters
- 5,012
- Sources
- 2 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/25/2026, 04:45
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 10/25/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 10/25/2026 | First version. Read in full the Federal Reserve Board's Household Debt Service Ratios release of September 22, 2026 (every quarter from 2005:Q1) and the DSR About page (last update September 25, 2024); quotations and figures matched against the source text. | Updated |
| 10/25/2026 | Revised after review: the comparison between the current and previous series is now presented as this page's reading, advising caution rather than stating that the series are not comparable, with the About page's description of the escrow difference quoted; and the FAQ on property taxes and insurance now answers that they are included in the mortgage component when bundled into the mortgage payment. | Updated |
Frequently asked
What share of income goes to household debt payments?
11.11% of disposable personal income in 2026:Q2, seasonally adjusted, according to the Fed release of September 22, 2026, the latest as of 25 October 2026.[1]
How is it split?
5.83% for mortgages and 5.28% for consumer debt in 2026:Q2; the mortgage and consumer ratios sum to the total.[1][2]
Did the ratio change from 2025:Q2 to 2026:Q2?
0.01 percentage points lower: 11.11% versus 11.12% (this page's calculation).[1]
Does it include property taxes and insurance?
In the mortgage component (1 of the 2 components), yes: the current methodology includes escrow payments when property taxes and insurance are bundled into the mortgage payment, according to the About page (last update September 25, 2024).[2]
Can I compare with 1990s values?
2005 is where the current series begins; earlier values come from a previous methodology (1980 through 2024) that did not include mortgage escrow payments. Because the data and methods differ, comparisons that ignore those differences call for caution (this page's reading).[2]
When is the next release?
No date is given on the release page as of 25 October 2026; it states only that the release is posted quarterly.[1]