Average Credit Card Debt Drops to $3,752 Per Adult, $7,394 Per Household

Cleveland, OH — The average American adult is carrying $3,752 in revolving debt, and the average American household is carrying $7,394 in revolving debt, according to new figures released by IndexCreditCards.com, a credit card comparison Web site and leading online provider of credit card industry news and research.

The debt load dropped significantly since the last IndexCreditCards.com report in July 2009, when average revolving debt per adult was estimated at $4,013, and the average household revolving debt was $7,861. (More details on the calculations are available at http://www.indexcreditcards.com/creditcarddebt/.)

"Debt levels have gone down for two reasons," said IndexCreditCards.com founder Adam Jusko. "Number one, consumers are simply spending less because of the overall economy, so fewer new charges are ending up on credit cards. Number two, credit card issuers have been actively shedding customers, especially those seen as higher risk, because of the higher number of defaults they’ve had to endure recently. Combine less spending with fewer cards in consumers’ hands, and it’s no surprise that debt levels are decreasing."

This is the fourth consecutive IndexCreditCards.com report showing a drop in credit card debt. The trend began more than a year ago when revolving debt per household fell to $7,900 in April 2009 from $8,188 in October 2008 and revolving debt per adult fell to $4,150 from $4,208 during the same period.

Most revolving debt is from credit cards, although other revolving consumer debt is included, such as home equity lines of credit. Not all revolving debt is long-term debt accruing interest–some is paid off each month. (Although pinpointing how much debt gets paid off every month is difficult, various surveys have reported that 40 percent to 55 percent of card holders say they pay off their full balances every month.)

IndexCreditCards.com uses government debt data and census data to estimate average credit card debt per adult and household. Federal Reserve data released in January estimated U.S. revolving consumer debt in November 2009 at $874 billion. Using adjusted census data for the U.S. population, IndexCreditCards.com arrives at the resulting debt averages.

About IndexCreditCards.com
IndexCreditCards.com is a credit card comparison Web site that offers one of the most comprehensive index of credit cards available on the Internet today, with a master listing of more than 1,200 credit cards. Newsweek has called it "as comprehensive a list as you’ll find of all the credit card offers on the table now." The site also features credit card news, research and categorized credit card offer lists based on lowest interest rates, reward programs, business credit cards, student credit cards and credit cards for those with poor credit histories.

Adam Jusko is available for interviews or commentary on this topic and other topics relating to credit cards and credit card trends. Information provided in this release may be reproduced free of charge, provided credit is given to http://www.IndexCreditCards.com.