The New York Fed releases its Q3 2026 Household Debt and Credit Report on Tuesday, November 10, at 11 a.m. ET, covering borrowing through September. The previous report put credit card balances at $1.263 trillion, with 6.97% of card balances moving into serious delinquency. Those figures set the baseline for the third quarter.
Key Takeaways
- The Q3 2026 report covers consumer credit data through the end of September and comes with a New York Fed research post on newly delinquent credit card borrowers.
- Total household debt was $18.771 trillion in Q2 2026, down $13 billion from Q1 and up $383 billion from a year earlier.
- Credit card balances reached $1.263 trillion in Q2, up $21 billion for the quarter and $54 billion from a year earlier.
- The share of credit card balances moving into serious delinquency was 6.97% in Q2 2026, compared with 6.93% a year earlier.
- In Q2, 4.7% of outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency.
- A year ago, in Q3 2025, credit card balances rose $24 billion to $1.23 trillion.
The Q3 Report Lands November 10 With a Focus on New Card Delinquencies
The New York Fed’s quarterly report is one of the broad public snapshots of how American households are borrowing and repaying. The Q3 edition, due November 10, captures data as of the end of September, the last full quarter before holiday spending begins.
This release comes with a Liberty Street Economics post examining newly delinquent credit card borrowers and how their socioeconomic profile has changed. That focus suggests the New York Fed sees card delinquency as the area most worth watching, a view consistent with its comments on the last report.
Second-Quarter Numbers Set the Baseline
The Q2 2026 report showed a household balance sheet that was large but not growing much. Total debt slipped $13 billion to $18.771 trillion, as mortgage balances fell $74 billion to $13.117 trillion. Other categories moved in different directions: auto debt rose $28 billion to $1.713 trillion, student debt fell $7 billion to $1.651 trillion, and home equity lines of credit rose $13 billion to $459 billion.
Credit card balances rose $21 billion to $1.263 trillion. Lenders also kept extending credit, with mortgage originations of $505 billion and $211 billion in new auto loans appearing on credit reports during the quarter.
Three Measures That Show Whether Card Strain Is Easing
Credit Card Balances Against the Seasonal Pattern
Card balances follow a seasonal rhythm, so the Q3 figure is most useful when compared with the same quarter a year earlier. In Q3 2025, balances rose $24 billion to $1.23 trillion. They then jumped $44 billion to $1.28 trillion in Q4 2025 with holiday spending, fell $25 billion to $1.25 trillion in Q1 2026, and rose $21 billion in Q2. A Q3 increase well above last year’s $24 billion would point to heavier reliance on cards before the holidays, while a smaller increase would suggest more restraint.
Flow Into Serious Delinquency
The more telling figure is how much card debt is moving into serious delinquency, meaning 90 days or more past due. That rate was 6.97% in Q2 2026, almost unchanged from 6.93% a year earlier. Joelle Scally, economic policy advisor at the New York Fed, said with the Q2 release that delinquency rates across most products have held steady over two years, but that new delinquencies for auto loans and credit cards remain elevated.
Auto Loans and Mortgages
Two other products are worth tracking. The share of auto debt moving into serious delinquency was 3.00% in Q2, up from 2.93% a year earlier. For mortgages, it rose to 1.52% from 1.29%. Mortgage delinquency remains low by these measures, but the year-over-year increase is one to watch in Q3.
Why Q3 Credit Data Matters for Holiday Sales
For small businesses that rely on card payments, household credit health shapes the holiday season. Card balances and delinquency trends show how much room consumers have left to spend on credit heading into November and December, when forecasters expect strong activity, including a $275.1 billion online holiday spending forecast.
Prices add pressure. Consumer prices rose 3.7% over the 12 months through September, up from 3.4% in August. When prices rise faster than incomes, some households lean more on credit to keep spending, which can lift card balances while increasing the risk of missed payments later. The Q3 report will show whether that pattern appeared over the summer.
Two Method Notes for Reading the Report
The report draws on the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative 5% random sample of individuals with a Social Security number and a credit report, built from Equifax data. Since Q1 2026, the report’s credit score charts have used VantageScore 4.0 instead of Equifax Risk Score 3.0, so score-based comparisons with earlier years should be read with that change in mind.
Credit card delinquency can also look different depending on the source. The New York Fed’s Q2 research examined why delinquency rates measured from credit bureau data differ from lenders’ own reported figures. Readers comparing the Q3 report with bank results should keep that difference in mind.
FAQs
When Is the New York Fed’s Q3 2026 Household Debt Report?
The New York Fed releases its Q3 2026 Household Debt and Credit Report on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 11 a.m. ET. It covers credit data through the end of September.
How Much Credit Card Debt Do Americans Have?
Credit card balances were $1.263 trillion in Q2 2026, according to the New York Fed. That was up $21 billion from Q1 and $54 billion from a year earlier.
What Is the Serious Delinquency Transition Rate?
It measures the share of balances that moved into serious delinquency, 90 days or more past due, during a period. For credit cards, it was 6.97% in Q2 2026.
What Does the New York Fed Household Debt Report Measure?
The report tracks household balances and delinquencies for mortgages, home equity lines, auto loans, student loans, and credit cards. It is based on a 5% sample of Equifax credit records.
