March 2026 U.S. National Consumer Credit Trends Report

As of March 2026, the monthly Equifax Consumer Credit Trends Report showed that total U.S. consumer debt was $18.19 trillion, up 2.8% from March 2025. Mortgage debt, including home equity loans, accounted for $13.51 trillion, a 74.3% share of total consumer debt, while non-mortgage consumer debt totaled $4.69 trillion, with 36.2% of non-mortgage consumer debt attributable to auto loans and leases, and 27.8% attributable to student loans.

Outstanding balances on auto loans and leases increased 1.7% from March 2025, to $1.70 trillion in March 2026.

Outstanding balances on U.S. bankcards decreased versus the prior month to $1.09 trillion in March 2026, up 3.9% from March 2025. Average bankcard utilization stood at 20.3%, which is a slight decrease from 20.7% in March 2025.

Consumer Credit Observations:

• As of March 2026, total U.S. consumer debt was $18.19 trillion dollars, up 2.8% from March 2025.

• Mortgage debt, including home equity loans, accounted for $13.51 trillion, making up 74.3% of total U.S. consumer debt.

  • First mortgages were 95.1% of mortgage debt outstanding.

  • Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) were 3.2% of mortgage debt outstanding.

• Non-mortgage debt totaled $4.69 trillion in March 2026 and broke down into:

  • 36.2% from auto loans and leases,

  • 27.8 % from student loans,

  • 24.3% from credit card balances and

  • 11.6% from other products.

Auto Loans and Leases Observations:

• Total outstanding balances on auto loans and leases increased 1.7% from March 2025 to $1.70 trillion.

• The number of outstanding accounts in March 2026 was 87.0 million, a 0.4% decrease year-over-year.

• The severe balance delinquency (60+ days past due) rate in March 2026 was 1.49%, which is 2 bps lower than March of last year.

Bankcard Portfolio Observations:

• Outstanding balances on bankcards increased 3.9% from March 2025 to $1.09 trillion.

• The number of outstanding accounts was 592.1 million in March 2026, a 2.6% increase from March 2025.

• The severe balance delinquency rate (60+ days past due) as of March 2026 was 2.97%, which is a 3.8% decrease from March 2025 (3.09%).

• Average bankcard utilization for March 2026 was 20.3%, compared to 20.7% in March of 2025.

Equifax publishes monthly U.S. Consumer Credit Insights here - including information on private-label credit cards, consumer finance, student loans and credit originations. Additionally, Global Credit Trends from the first half of 2025 can be explored here.

(c) Equifax Inc. 2026. All Rights Reserved. The information presented herein is sourced from Equifax internal records and is to be used for general informational use only.