While credit cards have become nearly universal in the U.S., a closer look at ownership statistics reveals a complex financial landscape where access and debt are far from evenly distributed.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, 83% of U.S. households headed by individuals aged 35-44 owned at least one credit card
- Among U.S. adults with incomes under $25,000 annually, 52% owned a credit card in 2022
- 91% of U.S. households with incomes over $100,000 owned credit cards in 2022
- In the UK, 89% of adults aged 25-34 owned credit cards in 2022
- Canada's credit card ownership rate was 82% for urban residents in 2023
- In Australia, 76% of households in New South Wales owned credit cards in 2022
- Credit card ownership in U.S. rose from 66% in 2000 to 83% in 2022
- UK ownership increased 5% from 2019 to 2023 post-pandemic
- U.S. Gen Z ownership doubled from 35% in 2013 to 68% in 2023
- 73% of U.S. credit card owners used cards for groceries weekly in 2023
- Average U.S. owner had 3.84 credit cards in 2022
- 45% of owners carry a balance month-to-month in 2023
- Average U.S. credit card balance $6,501 per account in 2023
- 48% of U.S. cardholders carry debt over $1,000 in 2022
- Delinquency rate 3.2% for U.S. cards in Q4 2023
Credit card ownership varies widely across different demographics and regions globally.
Debt and Default Rates
- Average U.S. credit card balance $6,501 per account in 2023
- 48% of U.S. cardholders carry debt over $1,000 in 2022
- Delinquency rate 3.2% for U.S. cards in Q4 2023
- Total U.S. credit card debt $1.13 trillion in 2023
- 44% of balances revolved (not paid off) monthly in 2022
- Subprime borrowers average debt $4,200 per card in 2023
- Serious delinquency (90+ days) at 1.6% in 2023
- Gen Z average balance $2,800 rising 20% YoY 2023
- Millennial average card debt $5,400 in 2022
- Interest paid annually averages $1,100 per indebted owner
- 26% of owners maxed out at least one card in 2023
- Charge-off rate 4.5% for U.S. banks in 2023
- Women carry 9% higher average balances than men in 2022
- Prime segment delinquency under 1% in 2023
- Total debt per household with cards $8,500 avg 2023
- 30-day delinquency rose to 8.5% mid-2023
- Boomers average balance $6,300 stable since 2020
- Low-income (<$50k) average debt $4,800 in 2022
- High-income (>$100k) avg balance $9,200 in 2023
- Student cardholders avg debt $1,200 at graduation 2023
- Bankruptcy filings linked to cards 36% of cases 2022
- APR averages 21.5% contributing to $130B interest 2023
- 14% of owners in collections for card debt 2023
- Debt growth 15% YoY to $1.08T mid-2023
- Minorities avg higher utilization 35% vs 28% overall 2022
Debt and Default Rates Interpretation
While collectively staggering under a trillion-dollar mountain of debt, the American cardholder's story is one of fragile stability, where the 'prime' majority treads water just above a churning undercurrent of delinquency, rising balances, and usurious interest that threatens to pull the financially vulnerable under.
Demographic Ownership
- In 2022, 83% of U.S. households headed by individuals aged 35-44 owned at least one credit card
- Among U.S. adults with incomes under $25,000 annually, 52% owned a credit card in 2022
- 91% of U.S. households with incomes over $100,000 owned credit cards in 2022
- In 2021, 78% of white U.S. adults owned at least one credit card compared to 64% of Black adults
- 85% of U.S. college graduates owned credit cards in 2023 versus 67% of those without a degree
- Women in the U.S. aged 30-49 had a 82% credit card ownership rate in 2022
- 76% of U.S. Hispanic adults owned credit cards in 2022
- U.S. millennials (born 1981-1996) showed 84% credit card ownership in 2023
- 89% of U.S. baby boomers owned credit cards in 2022
- Among U.S. adults 65+, 72% owned credit cards in 2023
- 55% of U.S. low-income renters owned credit cards in 2022
- U.S. men aged 25-34 had 81% credit card ownership in 2022
- 79% of married U.S. couples owned credit cards jointly in 2023
- Asian Americans in the U.S. had 88% credit card ownership rate in 2022
- 68% of U.S. single parents owned credit cards in 2022
- U.S. Gen Z (18-25) credit card ownership reached 68% in 2023
- 92% of U.S. households with postgraduate degrees owned credit cards in 2022
- 74% of U.S. unemployed adults owned credit cards in 2023
- Veterans in the U.S. showed 87% credit card ownership in 2022
- 80% of U.S. urban dwellers aged 40-59 owned credit cards in 2023
- 66% of U.S. rural residents under 30 owned credit cards in 2022
- LGBTQ+ adults in U.S. had 82% credit card ownership in 2023 survey
- 85% of U.S. high school graduates owned credit cards in 2022
- Disabled U.S. adults showed 71% credit card ownership rate in 2023
- 90% of U.S. executives (income >$200k) owned premium credit cards in 2022
- 62% of U.S. students owned credit cards in 2023
- Homeowners in U.S. aged 50+ had 88% ownership in 2022
- 77% of U.S. part-time workers owned credit cards in 2023
- Immigrants to U.S. (5+ years) had 75% credit card ownership in 2022
Demographic Ownership Interpretation
The American credit card appears to be an equal-opportunity seducer, universally courting us yet whispering different terms to the wealthy, the educated, and the struggling with a clarity that our national conversations about debt and opportunity often lack.
Geographic Ownership
- In the UK, 89% of adults aged 25-34 owned credit cards in 2022
- Canada's credit card ownership rate was 82% for urban residents in 2023
- In Australia, 76% of households in New South Wales owned credit cards in 2022
- Germany's credit card penetration was 54% nationally in 2023
- France saw 78% credit card ownership in Paris region in 2022
- India's urban credit card ownership reached 5% in 2023
- Brazil's Sao Paulo state had 42% credit card ownership in 2022
- Japan's credit card usage ownership was 92% in Tokyo 2023
- South Korea's national credit card ownership rate was 95% in 2022
- Mexico City residents owned credit cards at 38% rate in 2023
- In the EU, Sweden had the highest at 87% credit card ownership in 2022
- Nigeria's Lagos state credit card ownership was 12% in 2023
- China's Shanghai urban areas showed 25% ownership in 2022
- U.S. Northeast region had 85% credit card ownership in 2023
- Texas, U.S. state-level ownership was 79% in 2022
- California's credit card ownership rate was 84% in 2023
- Florida adults owned credit cards at 81% in 2022
- New York state ownership stood at 86% in 2023
- Midwest U.S. region averaged 78% credit card ownership in 2022
- South U.S. census region had 77% ownership in 2023
- West U.S. ownership was 82% in 2022
- Rural U.S. areas lagged at 70% ownership in 2023
- Urban U.S. centers reached 88% in 2022
- U.S. state of Illinois had 80% ownership in 2023
- Pennsylvania ownership was 79% in 2022
- Ohio state credit card ownership at 78% in 2023
- Michigan had 77% ownership in 2022
- Spain's Madrid region ownership was 72% in 2023
- Italy's Lombardy had 68% credit card ownership in 2022
Geographic Ownership Interpretation
From the Nordics to the Antipodes, the global wallet seems to be largely plastic, but whether you're swiping in Seoul or sticking to cash in Lagos clearly depends on where your financial habits were hatched.
Historical Trends
- Credit card ownership in U.S. rose from 66% in 2000 to 83% in 2022
- UK ownership increased 5% from 2019 to 2023 post-pandemic
- U.S. Gen Z ownership doubled from 35% in 2013 to 68% in 2023
- Global credit card ownership grew 12% annually from 2015-2022
- In 2010, 75% of U.S. adults owned cards vs 83% in 2022
- Canada saw ownership rise from 78% in 2015 to 84% in 2023
- Australia ownership peaked at 80% in 2022 from 72% in 2012
- EU average ownership up 8% since 2010 to 65% in 2023
- China's ownership surged from 10% in 2015 to 28% in 2023
- U.S. prime borrowers ownership steady at 90% from 2018-2023
- Subprime U.S. ownership fell from 60% in 2008 to 55% in 2022
- India credit cards tripled from 2018 to 2023 to 8% ownership
- Japan ownership stable at 91-93% from 2010-2023
- Brazil ownership grew 15% from 2017 to 2022
- U.S. millennials ownership from 70% in 2015 to 86% in 2023
- Boomers U.S. ownership declined slightly from 92% in 2010 to 89% 2022
- During COVID, U.S. ownership dipped 2% in 2020 then rebounded
- South Korea from 90% in 2010 to 96% in 2023
- Mexico ownership up 10% from 2018 to 35% in 2023
- France ownership stable 76-79% 2015-2023
- U.S. average cards per owner rose from 3.6 in 2015 to 3.8 in 2022
- Germany slow growth from 48% in 2015 to 56% in 2023
- Nigeria from 5% in 2015 to 15% in 2023
- U.S. 18-24 ownership from 52% 2010 to 68% 2023
- UK post-Brexit ownership up 4% 2016-2022
- Global penetration from 25% in 2000 to 45% in 2023
- U.S. women ownership from 78% 2010 to 84% 2022
Historical Trends Interpretation
The world is increasingly saying "charge it," with credit card ownership swelling from the steady hands of prime borrowers to the eager wallets of Gen Z, painting a global portrait of financial integration that is both empowering and inescapable.
Usage Statistics
- 73% of U.S. credit card owners used cards for groceries weekly in 2023
- Average U.S. owner had 3.84 credit cards in 2022
- 45% of owners carry a balance month-to-month in 2023
- Rewards cards used by 56% of U.S. owners in 2022
- Online purchases made with cards by 92% of owners quarterly
- 28% of owners use cards for bill payments in 2023
- Travel rewards redeemed by 34% of owners annually
- Cash advances taken by 12% of U.S. owners yearly
- 61% prefer cards over debit for everyday spending in 2022
- Balance transfers used by 19% of owners in past year
- 67% check credit card statements monthly
- Mobile wallet linked to cards by 55% in 2023
- 41% use cards exclusively for emergencies
- Gas station swipes average 22% of card transactions
- 52% redeem points/cashback quarterly
- Contactless payments via cards used by 78% weekly
- 35% of owners have store-specific cards used monthly
- Dining out charged to cards by 68% bi-weekly
- 24% use cards for peer-to-peer transfers
- Insurance purchases made with cards by 48% annually
- 59% set up autopay for minimum payments
- Utility bills paid via card by 31% monthly
- 44% use cards for subscriptions/services
- Rent payments via card adopted by 16% in 2023
- Charitable donations via card 27% yearly
- Medical expenses charged to cards by 39%
- 71% use cards abroad while traveling yearly
- Average monthly card spend $1,200 per U.S. owner in 2022
Usage Statistics Interpretation
The American dream is now a meticulously optimized, points-chasing marathon where we swipe our way from groceries to global adventures, all while nervously eyeing a balance that nearly half of us can't quite shake.
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