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Equifax National Market Pulse Data Shows U.S. Consumer Debt Accelerating
Equifax® (NYSE: EFX) has released its Market Pulse Fourth Quarter U.S. Consumer Credit Trends, which includes U.S. national consumer credit data and trends through December 2025 sourced from Equifax proprietary data. According to Equifax, the rate of increase for overall consumer debt accelerated in December 2025 compared to the same month in 2023 and 2024, with total U.S. consumer debt reaching $18.20 trillion by the end of 2025. In addition to consumer debt growth accelerating, a persistent K-
About this update from Equifax, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"While Delinquency Rates Have Begun to Ease, They are Still Elevated Relative to Pre-Pandemic Norms","length":98,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"ATLANTA, Feb. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax® (NYSE: EFX) has released its Market Pulse Fourth Quarter U.S. Consumer Credit Trends, which includes U.S. national consumer credit data and trends through December 2025 sourced from Equifax proprietary data. According to Equifax, the rate of increase for overall consumer debt accelerated in December 2025 compared to the same month in 2023 and 2024, with total U.S. consumer debt reaching $18.20 trillion by the end of 2025. In addition to consumer debt growth accelerating, a persistent K-shaped divide underscores a widening financial chasm between income brackets.","length":621,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"Through December 2025, total U.S. consumer debt is $18.20 trillion, up 3.7% from over a year ago.*","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Through December 2025, total U.S. consumer debt is $18.20 trillion, up 3.7% from over a year ago.*","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":198,"height":400,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/e1775edd95d48af55dc17bba8ce958c4"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/GBYT83LE21ssHEBjvUcmwA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTM2MDtoPTcyNztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/e1775edd95d48af55dc17bba8ce958c4","width":198,"height":400}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2919216/Equifax_Consumer_Debt_Through_Dec_2025.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":""Average subprime credit card utilization remained flat at 75.6% from quarter three to quarter four of 2025, despite rising prices, higher interest rates, and increased delinquencies," said Maria Urtubey, Market Pulse Advisor at Equifax. "However, topline improvements can mask financial stress in certain groups. While higher-income consumers continue to benefit from asset inflation and expanded credit availability, many others remain under pressure, and the broader economic picture still shows uneven financial health. This divergence reinforces the K-shaped economic divide observed in prior quarters and underscores the need to evaluate multiple factors when gauging the financial health of American consu...