Total household debt has hit $18.8 trillion, according to first-quarter data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That's up by $18 billion from the fourth quarter and represents a new record.
Mortgage balances grew slightly by $21 billion in Q1, totaling $13.19 trillion at the end of March. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances rose $12 billion, the 16th consecutive quarterly increase. That brought the total in the category to $446 billion, $129 billion over the low in Q1 2022.
"Aggregate household debt levels rose slightly, with modest increases in most debt types offsetting a seasonal decline in credit card balances," said Daniel Mangrum, research economist at the New York Fed, in prepared remarks.
"Delinquency transition rates were mostly steady, while student loan delinquencies are returning to pre-pandemic levels."
Non-housing debt balances were down $15 billion or 0.3% lower than in Q4 2025. The main component was a seasonal reduction in credit card balances, which were down $25 billion to now total $1.25 trillion. Auto loan balances increased by $18 billion to $1.69 trillion. The category of other balances, which includes retail cards and consumer finance loans, was down $2 billion to $562 billion. Student loan balances were nearly flat, down $6 billion to $1.66 trillion.
Aggregate delinquency showed little change. By the end of March, 4.8% of outstanding debt was in some state of delinquency. That was roughly the same as in 2025 Q4. Transition into early delinquency was steady for auto loans, but down for credit cards, from 8.7% annually to 8.6% and mortgages went from 3.9% to 3.8%. Flow into serious delinquency (90 days or more delinquent) was fairly steady for auto loans and credit cards. However, those rates increased slightly for mortgages, rising from 1.22% to 1.48%.
Pushing debt balances upward is the return of federal student loan defaults after the pandemic pause. The flow into serious delinquency rose from 8.04% to 10.86%.
About 124,000 consumers gained a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports in the quarter, a pace that was the same as Q4 2025. The percentage of consumers with a third-party collection amount on their credit report increased slightly to 5%.
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