Commonly cited “record” credit card balance figures don’t account for an increase in cardholders and inflation. When measured in real dollars, consumers’ credit card balances have stayed flat over the last 10 years.

Recent headlines on affordability regularly cite that credit card balances have reached “record-high” levels, as total U.S. credit card balances now exceeds $1.28 trillion. The high balance number paints a bleak picture. However, context matters. When looking at the total balances, it is important to account for two changes over the last 10 years: (1) an increase in the number of cardholders; and (2) inflation.

According to data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 2025 Consumer Credit Card Market Report, when looking at the annual average per-cardholder balance, inflation-adjusted balances have stayed largely flat over the last 10 years. Balances actually decreased for the average cardholder by roughly $75 from January 2015 to July 2024 – the CFPB’s most recent data.

An increased number of card holders boosts net credit card balances.

When looking at the overall U.S. credit card balance, you have to account for the number of cardholders: the more people with credit cards there are in the United States, the larger the total U.S. credit card balance will be. In its most recent report to Congress, the CFPB estimated that, by the end of 2023, there were roughly 208 million cardholders, largely consumers with prime or higher credit scores (76.4 percent). The CFPB previously estimated that there were around 169 million Americans with a credit card by mid-2017. This means there are roughly 39 million more Americans with credit cards than eight years ago, which will drive up the total credit card balance.

Nominal values distort trends over time by not accounting for inflation.

Higher nominal balances largely reflect inflation, not broad-based increases in borrowing.

Inflation is the increase in the average prices of goods and services over time. As inflation rises, purchasing power decreases. For example, $1.00 in January 2014 has the same purchasing power as $1.40 in February 2026. As the cost of goods and services increases over time, U.S. credit card balances will increase too.

Americans are no stranger to inflation. Previous research from Dr. Alexei Alexandrov highlighted that the rising affordability pressures are concentrated in housing, healthcare, food, and auto prices. For instance, prices for groceries, such as milk and ground beef, rose dramatically over the last several years and remain markedly elevated over pre-pandemic levels.  

Housing and car costs have similarly risen sharply. When indexed to Q1 of 2015, the increase is starkest for housing costs.

As costs increase with inflation, credit card balances necessarily increase as well.

Accounting for inflation allows for comparisons over time.

Changes in nominal values, measured in terms of absolute money amount, may reflect changes due to inflation. Since nominal values don’t account for inflation-driven changes in purchasing power, comparing nominal values over time can mask what’s actually going on. Adjusting values to account for inflation creates real values, which can then be used to compare values over time without the distortion caused by inflation.

Real per-consumer credit card balances are largely flat.

The CFPB does not adjust for inflation in The Consumer Credit Card Market reports, instead reporting balances in nominal dollars. They caution that “readers should be aware that aggregate amounts tend to grow over time due to inflation and increases in the population of cardholders.”

Using data provided alongside the 2025 report and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI), CBA analysis shows that the annual average per-cardholder cycle-ending balances have decreased slightly from 2014, staying largely flat. To calculate the inflation-adjusted average per-cardholder cycle-ending balance, we divided the nominal values in the CFPB data by the CPI from July 2024 divided by the CPI from the month of the nominal value.

The resulting averages are inflation-adjusted real average per-cardholder cycle-ending credit card balances, which allows us to compare across time without the distortion present in the nominal averages. CBA then calculated the annual average cycle-ending credit card balance. A full table of adjusted monthly average per-cardholder cycle-ending balances can be found in Appendix A.

Balances have remained largely flat, with a slight upward tick after a post-pandemic dip.

The post-pandemic decrease in average balances can be largely explained by the retraction in credit access and paying down in balances from stimulus payments that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When looking across period captured in the CFPB’s data, there has been about a $75 decrease in real annual average per-cardholder cycle-ending balances, staying largely flat.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, any serious effort to address today’s affordability challenges must begin with a clear-eyed, data-driven understanding of the American consumer. Headlines and anecdotes may capture attention, but policymaking demands a more rigorous assessment of the full economic picture. Grounding decisions in comprehensive, accurate data, policymakers can avoid one-size-fits-all solutions and instead pursue targeted approaches that genuinely expand financial opportunity, preserve access to credit, and support the diverse needs of hardworking Americans across the country.