If Your Debt Is Below This Number, You're Under The National Average For Your Age

As a child, everyone looks forward to growing up. The idea of finally being able to fly the coop, go to college, get a job, and overall be free from the authority of your parents seems like the most exciting thing to be able to do. However, the reality of adulthood in the modern world isn't quite as picturesque as we may have imagined it as youngsters. The truth is, adulting is expensive, and due to the current economic uncertainty we face in the U.S., it doesn't seem like it will be getting more affordable any time soon.

This being the case, it's understandable that many young adults are raking in debt at levels far greater than any previous generations. Post COVID-19 Pandemic, inflation in the country has surged and things are more expensive than they ever have been before, causing great financial uncertainty amongst many Americans. At the same time, there are methods anyone can use to take advantage of the changing economic landscape by learning how to use high-interest and high-inflation to your advantage like the wealthy do. That being said, the best place to start in this process is to determine how much debt you actually have. So without further ado, let's take a look at the national averages for debt by age group in America to determine whether or not the amount we've taken on is higher or lower than what is categorically considered normal in 2025.

Although the burden of debt has become unavoidable for most adults, it's still important to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. If not, it can spiral out of control quickly. And for those that have made this common mistake and seen this happen in real time, the outcome certainly is far from pretty. For that reason, try not to have to learn the hard way and pay off the statement balance on your credit card every month if you can. However, if you did end up getting into a significant amount of credit card debt post pandemic, you may find solace in knowing that you're not alone.

Recent data has revealed that credit card debt has been exploding in America over the last few years. As of 2025, Americans owe a total of $986 billion on credit cards, a significant increase from the total of $927 billion that was owed pre-pandemic. The main culprit for this can largely be attributed to the rise in inflation post-pandemic, seeing as consumer prices have risen by 21.4% since February of 2020. In 2022 alone American household debt hit a record total of $16.9 trillion dollars. When you do the math, this is equivalent to each of the 340 million Americans having almost $50,000 in debt. However, based on 2023 data gathered by Debt.org, the actual average amount of debt held by Americans paints a rather different picture.

The current economic landscape in America makes it much harder to financially succeed prior to what older generations experienced. Inflation hit a 40-year high of 8% in 2022, and although it's cooled off a bit since its peak, the average consumer is still feeling an increased level of financial hardship than they were pre-pandemic. For that reason, it's no surprise that there has been an uptick in credit card delinquency rates amongst young people, which is what happens when someone fails to make a payment on their credit card by its due date. There's also been a rise in credit card delinquency rates amongst older people compared to before 2020, but not at the same rate as younger people.

That being said, let's take a look at the average amount of non-mortgage debt by age group in America. There is an average total of $69 billion in debt amongst ages 18-29, at $12,871 per individual. People ages 30-39 have an average total of $1.17 trillion debt or $26,532 per person, and ages 40-49 have $1.13 trillion in debt or $27,838 per person. These numbers start to simmer down when you reach the age group of 50-59, as they have an average total of $98 billion in debt or $23,719 per person. The 60-69 year old demographic has a total of $64 billion in debt or $16,661 per person, and finally, ages 70+ have $36 billion in debt or $9,827 per person on average.