Estimates of Americans’ debt burden abound, and unfortunately, they’re almost all different. But one thing is clear: Americans are carrying a lot of debt, especially millennials, according to Gallup analysis.
Perhaps the most surprising finding from Gallup’s analysis is just how few Americans account for that mountain of consumer debt. For example, three out of four U.S. adults (76%) report that they have at least one credit card, but, on average, Americans have 3.4 of them. The percentage of Americans who have credit cards is lowest among millennials (65%) and highest among traditionalists (85%), with Gen Xers (78%) and baby boomers (83%) in between.
Though 76% of U.S. adults report having at least one credit card, just under half of Americans (48%) carry credit card debt, with fewer traditionalists (32%) and more Gen Xers (61%) carrying credit card debt. The Generation X finding isn’t surprising, given that they are in their prime child-rearing years and that they have more cards than any other group (4.5).
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(Gallup) Americans are carrying a lot of debt, especially millennials
Estimates of Americans’ debt burden abound, and unfortunately, they’re almost all different. But one thing is clear: Americans are carrying a lot of debt, especially millennials, according to Gallup analysis.
Perhaps the most surprising finding from Gallup’s analysis is just how few Americans account for that mountain of consumer debt. For example, three out of four U.S. adults (76%) report that they have at least one credit card, but, on average, Americans have 3.4 of them. The percentage of Americans who have credit cards is lowest among millennials (65%) and highest among traditionalists (85%), with Gen Xers (78%) and baby boomers (83%) in between.
Though 76% of U.S. adults report having at least one credit card, just under half of Americans (48%) carry credit card debt, with fewer traditionalists (32%) and more Gen Xers (61%) carrying credit card debt. The Generation X finding isn’t surprising, given that they are in their prime child-rearing years and that they have more cards than any other group (4.5).
Read it all.