Best Credit Cards in September 2024
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LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
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Advertising Disclosure
LendingTree is an advertising-supported comparison service. The site features products from our partners as well as institutions which are not advertising partners. While we make an effort to include the best deals available to the general public, we make no warranty that such information represents all available products. We are compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order).
Written by
Matt Schulz
Edited by
Dan Shepard
Updated on:
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
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Americans have an absolute mountain of credit card debt — $1.142 trillion, to be exact.
This credit card debt statistics page tracks Americans’ credit card use each month. We update this page regularly, looking at how much debt people have, how often they carry a balance month to month, how often they pay their credit card bills late and more.
Americans’ total credit card balance is $1.142 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s up from $1.115 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 and is the highest balance since the New York Fed began tracking in 1999.
This is the eighth time in the past nine quarters in which credit card debt hasn’t decreased. The only decrease during that period was in the first quarter of 2024. However, it isn’t unusual for credit card debt to dip in the first quarter. That’s happened in all but three years — 2000, 2001 and 2023 — since the report began in 1999. A decrease in the second quarter would have been far more surprising. The last time that happened was in 2020, at the onset of the pandemic. Prior to that, it hadn’t happened since 2012.
Credit card balances have risen by $372 billion since the first quarter of 2021. Americans’ credit card debt is $215 billion higher than the record set in the fourth quarter of 2019, when balances stood at $927 billion. However, thanks to record interest rates, stubborn inflation and myriad other economic factors, credit card balances are likely only going to climb.
These record balances are light years above the $478 billion seen more than 20 years ago in the first quarter of 1999.
Card debt showed hockey-stick growth until the financial collapse in 2008, when balances fell from $866 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 to $660 billion in the first quarter of 2013. But, as you can see in the chart below, the hockey stick returned.
Then, when the pandemic took hold in 2020, credit card balances plunged again — from $927 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 to $770 billion in the first quarter of 2021. But — again — the hockey stick returned, thanks to a massive spike in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Which states’ residents have the most credit card debt?
Credit cardholders in New Jersey have the highest average credit card debt of any state, according to LendingTree data, while those in Mississippi have the lowest.
| Rank | State | Average credit card debt, Q3 2023 | Average credit card debt, Q4 2023 | % difference, Q3 2023 to Q4 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $8,757 | $8,909 | 1.7% |
| 2 | Connecticut | $8,402 | $8,640 | 2.8% |
| 3 | Maryland | $8,741 | $8,626 | -1.3% |
| 4 | New York | $8,675 | $8,566 | -1.3% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $8,026 | $8,447 | 5.2% |
| 6 | California | $7,936 | $8,366 | 5.4% |
| 7 | Colorado | $7,860 | $8,134 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Florida | $8,048 | $7,937 | -1.4% |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $8,236 | $7,872 | -4.4% |
| 10 | Hawaii | $7,879 | $7,757 | -1.5% |
| 11 | Nevada | $7,724 | $7,646 | -1.0% |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $8,221 | $7,542 | -8.3% |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $7,589 | $7,536 | -0.7% |
| 14 | Texas | $7,359 | $7,458 | 1.3% |
| 15 | Delaware | $7,770 | $7,436 | -4.3% |
| 16 | Virginia | $7,193 | $7,417 | 3.1% |
| 17 | Alaska | $7,650 | $7,379 | -3.5% |
| 18 | Maine | $7,330 | $7,364 | 0.5% |
| 19 | Illinois | $7,555 | $7,352 | -2.7% |
| 20 | North Dakota | $7,091 | $7,096 | 0.1% |
| 21 | Washington | $7,158 | $7,088 | -1.0% |
| 22 | Arizona | $7,067 | $7,080 | 0.2% |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $6,791 | $7,059 | 3.9% |
| 24 | Oregon | $6,485 | $6,988 | 7.8% |
| 25 | Utah | $6,657 | $6,876 | 3.3% |
| 26 | Minnesota | $6,669 | $6,765 | 1.4% |
| 27 | Kansas | $6,504 | $6,722 | 3.4% |
| 28 | Nebraska | $6,681 | $6,702 | 0.3% |
| 29 | Wyoming | $6,542 | $6,692 | 2.3% |
| 30 | Georgia | $6,959 | $6,690 | -3.9% |
| 31 | Montana | $6,835 | $6,677 | -2.3% |
| 32 | Vermont | $7,014 | $6,544 | -6.7% |
| 33 | South Dakota | $6,237 | $6,510 | 4.4% |
| 33 | Iowa | $7,119 | $6,510 | -8.6% |
| 35 | Michigan | $6,243 | $6,282 | 0.6% |
| 36 | North Carolina | $6,703 | $6,176 | -7.9% |
| 37 | South Carolina | $6,325 | $6,100 | -3.6% |
| 38 | Ohio | $6,163 | $6,035 | -2.1% |
| 39 | New Mexico | $6,075 | $5,959 | -1.9% |
| 40 | Idaho | $6,396 | $5,952 | -6.9% |
| 41 | Louisiana | $6,011 | $5,899 | -1.9% |
| 42 | Wisconsin | $6,181 | $5,888 | -4.7% |
| 43 | Missouri | $6,187 | $5,827 | -5.8% |
| 44 | West Virginia | $6,383 | $5,787 | -9.3% |
| 45 | Tennessee | $6,068 | $5,757 | -5.1% |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $6,087 | $5,723 | -6.0% |
| 47 | Indiana | $5,857 | $5,501 | -6.1% |
| 48 | Alabama | $5,720 | $5,387 | -5.8% |
| 49 | Arkansas | $5,924 | $5,363 | -9.5% |
| 50 | Kentucky | $5,917 | $5,090 | -14.0% |
| 51 | Mississippi | $5,658 | $4,956 | -12.4% |
| N/A | National average | $6,993 | $6,864 | -2.0% |
Source: LendingTree analysis of the anonymized credit reports of more than 310,000 LendingTree users in the third quarter of 2023 and more than 350,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023. Note: The rank is based on the average credit card debt in Q4 2023.
LendingTree analysts reviewed anonymized credit report data from the fourth quarter of 2023 for more than 350,000 LendingTree users to calculate these averages and create a list of states with the most debt. We also compared that data to what we had found in our third-quarter analysis of more than 310,000 reports.
Overall, the national average card debt among cardholders with unpaid balances in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $6,864, down from $6,993 in the third quarter. That includes debt from bank cards and retail credit cards.
The five states with the highest debt are all in the eastern U.S., with all but Maryland in the Northeast. The four with the lowest are in the South. There are major differences in the balances at the top and bottom of our rankings, with New Jersey cardholders owing $8,909 and Mississippi’s owing $4,956. (It’s the only state with an average balance of less than $5,000.) That means the average New Jersey balance is 80% higher than the average balance in Mississippi.
Oregon has the fastest-growing card debt between the periods analyzed. That state’s average card balance grew 7.8% from the third quarter of 2023 to the fourth, rising from $6,485 to $6,988. California (5.4%) and Massachusetts (5.2%) were the only other states with increases of 5.0% or more.
Meanwhile, two states saw double-digit decreases: Kentucky (14.0%) and Mississippi (12.4%). Arkansas (9.5%) and West Virginia (9.3%) weren’t far behind.
Fewer than half of adult credit cardholders (47%) carried a balance on a credit card for at least one month in the past year, according to a May 2024 Federal Reserve study.
Job No. 1 for anyone with a credit card is to pay off that balance in full at the end of each month. But we all know that life happens, and that means that it’s not always possible to pay off your credit cards each month.
Federal Reserve data showed that fewer than half (47%) of credit cardholders carried a balance at some point in 2023. That’s down a percentage point from 2021 and 2022 but is down even further from 2020, when that rate was 50%.
What’s the average interest rate on people’s credit cards? What about those who carry a balance? What about new credit card offers?
For all credit cards, the average APR in the second quarter of 2024 was 21.51%.
For cards accruing interest, the average in the second quarter of 2024 was 22.76%.
For new credit card offers, the average today is 24.92% — tied for the highest since we began tracking rates monthly in 2019.
| Average APRs for current card accounts and new credit card offers | |
| Average APR for all current card accounts | 21.51% |
| Average APR for all accounts that accrue interest | 22.76% |
| Average APR for new credit card offers | 24.92% |
Sources: Federal Reserve, LendingTree data
The Federal Reserve’s G.19 consumer credit report showed that the average APRs for cards accruing interest rose to 22.76% in the second quarter of 2024, up from 22.63% in the first quarter of 2024. It ends a streak of two straight quarterly decreases. Meanwhile, APRs for all current credit card accounts fell to 21.51% in the second quarter of 2024, down from 21.59% in the first quarter of 2024. That’s the first quarterly decrease since the fourth quarter of 2021 — a hopeful sign for the future for consumers.
If you plan to get a new credit card, your interest rate will likely be higher than those listed above. The latest LendingTree data on credit card APRs shows that the average APR with a new credit card offer is 24.92%, with the average card offering an APR range of 21.48% to 28.36%, with your rate varying based on your creditworthiness. Those rates have risen significantly since the end of 2021, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s announcement of seven interest rate hikes in 2022 and four more in 2023. However, things are likely to change soon as most Fed observers expect the Fed to begin lowering rates at their Sept. 17-18 meeting. (The Fed has left rates unchanged in nine of its last 10 meetings, including its most recent one on July 30 and 31.) If the Fed starts reducing its rates, credit card rates will follow suit within a month or two.
And as the chart below shows, the rate you’re offered can also vary widely based on the type of card for which you apply.
Average APRs by category
| Category | Minimum APR | Maximum APR | Average | Previous month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average APR for all new card offers | 21.48% | 28.36% | 24.92% | 24.92% |
| 0% balance transfer cards | 19.02% | 28.13% | 23.58% | 23.53% |
| No-annual-fee cards | 20.94% | 27.93% | 24.43% | 24.43% |
| Rewards cards | 21.21% | 28.50% | 24.85% | 24.85% |
| Cash back cards | 21.65% | 28.38% | 25.01% | 24.94% |
| Travel rewards cards | 21.08% | 29.05% | 25.07% | 25.13% |
| Airline credit cards | 21.30% | 29.49% | 25.39% | 25.39% |
| Hotel credit cards | 21.19% | 29.39% | 25.29% | 25.58% |
| Low-interest credit cards | 13.45% | 22.66% | 18.06% | 17.77% |
| Grocery rewards cards | 20.97% | 28.58% | 24.78% | 24.78% |
| Gas rewards cards | 21.53% | 28.39% | 24.96% | 24.96% |
| Dining rewards cards | 20.90% | 28.65% | 24.78% | 24.77% |
| Student credit cards | 19.14% | 28.74% | 23.94% | 23.94% |
| Secured credit cards | 27.41% | 27.41% | 27.41% | 27.41% |
Source: LendingTree review of publicly available terms and conditions for about 220 U.S. credit cards.
Of course, your best move is to make those interest rates a moot point by paying your card debt in full, but that’s often easier said than done.
Just 3.25% of Americans’ total outstanding credit card balances are currently at least 30 days delinquent.
According to the most recent delinquency data from the Fed, the 30-day delinquency rate (or the percentage of total outstanding credit card balances currently at least 30 days overdue) rose from 3.15% in the first quarter of 2024 to 3.25% in the second quarter.
That’s the 11th straight quarter of increases, pushing rates to the highest levels seen since the fourth quarter of 2011, when rates also hit 3.25%. However, delinquency rates are still near historic lows. The average delinquency rate since the Fed began tracking in 1991 is 3.73%, while the average since 2000 is 3.46%.
Today’s numbers are also vastly different from what we saw during the Great Recession, when delinquencies peaked at nearly 7% in 2009 and stayed above 5% for nearly two years.
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On this page
- How much credit card debt do Americans have?
- Which states' residents have the most credit card debt?
- What percentage of credit cardholders carry a balance?
- What's the average interest rate on people's credit cards?
- How many Americans are currently delinquent?
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