Consumer Credit - Historical Chart
Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized. Gray shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Series TOTALSL. Shaded areas = NBER recession dates. Updated 2026-03-09.
What the Jan 2026 Data Shows
At $5,114.68T, the consumer credit in Jan 2026 is above the 10-year average of $4,363.27T by 751405.93. The metric has risen in each of the last 6 months.
What This Metric Measures
This page tracks total consumer credit owned and securitized, including auto loans, student loans, credit card balances, and other revolving and nonrevolving consumer debt. Excludes mortgage debt.. The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, series TOTALSL, updated monthly.
Historical Context
The all-time peak was $5,114.68T in Jan 2026. The all-time trough was $5.35T in Feb 1944. During COVID-19 in 2020, the reading hit $4,185.45T (Feb 2020). Year-over-year, the metric has moved 3.2%.
Why It Matters
Total consumer credit measures the aggregate debt load that American households carry. When this number grows faster than incomes, households become increasingly stretched. Consumer credit crossed $5 trillion for the first time in recent years, a milestone that raises questions about debt sustainability.
What This Means for Business Owners
Understanding where this metric stands relative to historical norms helps business owners make better borrowing decisions. Metrics far from their 10-year average often signal turning points that affect the cost and availability of credit.
Total Consumer Credit Outstanding - Frequently Asked Questions
Total consumer credit outstanding is $5114679.44 billion as of Jan 2026 per FRED series TOTALSL. This includes credit cards, auto loans, student loans, and other consumer installment credit but excludes mortgages.
Consumer credit has grown almost continuously since the 1940s in nominal terms. What matters more is the debt-to-income ratio. Consumer debt relative to disposable income provides a better sense of whether the debt load is sustainable.
Auto loans and credit card balances have been the fastest-growing consumer debt categories in recent years. Student loan growth has slowed due to repayment pauses and policy interventions.
Consumer spending drives roughly 70% of U.S. GDP. Credit expansion supports spending growth, but excessive credit growth creates a hangover when consumers hit their limit and start deleveraging.
Consumer credit contraction is rare and signals serious economic stress. It happened in 2009-2010 during the Great Recession and briefly in early 2020. Contraction means both lenders and borrowers are pulling back simultaneously.
FRED series TOTALSL, published monthly by the Federal Reserve in the G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release.