IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Household Debt Hits Record High Under Trump

Trump said he would make the economy better for working people.

Household debt in the U.S. has reached an all-time high, with soaring rates of borrowing across various metrics, according to a new report. It comes despite President Donald Trump winning the 2024 election on a platform that promised to improve the economic lives of everyday Americans. Mortgages, student loans, and car loans have all risen, according to new numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. From July to September, household debt rose $197 billion compared to the last quarter nationwide, it said. That takes the overall debt to $18.59 trillion, up $4.4 trillion since before the COVID pandemic began in 2019. The report said, “Missed federal student loan payments that were not previously reported to credit bureaus between 2020 Q2 and 2024 Q4 are now appearing in credit reports. Consequently, student loan delinquency rates remained elevated after a sharp rise in the first half of 2025.” Student loan debt has risen to $1.65 trillion, with 90-day delinquency affecting approximately 10 percent of all loans. “Student loan delinquencies are at a record high, but auto loan and credit card delinquencies aren’t as high as they were in the middle of 2024,” Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman told ABC News.