Total household debt fell to $17.13 trillion in Q1 2023, according to a report from WalletHub.
05/23/2023 11:30 A.M.
1.5 minute read
A new WalletHub study gauging quarterly household debt found that U.S. households paid off $140 billion in debt during the first quarter of the year—roughly 63% less than the average Q1 paydown over the past 19 years.
As a result, U.S. households collectively owed $17.13 trillion to start the second quarter of 2023, roughly $1.15 trillion below WalletHub’s projected breaking point, based on debt levels during the Great Recession.
Key findings from the survey include:
- “Consumers paid down a total of $140 billion in debt during Q1 2023—40% less than in Q1 2022.
- The average household owed a total of $143,636 at the end of Q1 2023, only $12,918 below WalletHub’s projected breaking point for household finances.
- Household mortgage debt fell by roughly $82 billion in Q1 2023—the seventh biggest paydown since 2004.
- The average household had $101,482 in mortgage debt at the end of Q1 2023—$12,901 below WalletHub’s projected breaking point for mortgages.
- In Q1 2023, debt from home equity lines of credit (HELOC) fell by $2.7 billion, marking the 14th consecutive first quarter paydown.
- The average household had $2,856 in HELOC debt at the end of Q1 2023.
- Auto loan debt decreased by $16 billion in Q1 2023—the third consecutive first quarter paydown.
- The average household’s auto loan balance was $13,161 at the end of Q1 2023.
- Total student loan debt decreased by $18 billion in Q1 2023—the second biggest Q1 paydown since 2004.
- The average household’s student loan debt was $13,515 at the end of Q1 2023.”
WalletHub’s quarterly household debt report is based on analysis of the latest data on consumer finances available from the New York Federal Reserve and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Read more findings from the survey here.
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