Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Ever

Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Ever

From The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios

June 5, 2026 · 21 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the record high credit card debt in America and the factors contributing to its growth.

The collective credit card debt of Americans has reached an all-time high of $1.25 trillion. Soaring interest rates and stubborn inflation have also led more people to be late making their credit card payments or not paying at all. WSJ’s Dan Frosch reports on why that debt is growing and where people can turn for help. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: Swipe, Spend, Repeat: The Perks Arms Race in Your Wallet Student-Loan Debt Is Strangling Gen XSign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Jessica Mendoza

Topics covered

  • credit card debt
  • interest rates
  • inflation
  • financial help
  • personal finance

Keywords

  • credit card debt
  • Americans
  • interest rates
  • inflation
  • financial assistance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Wall Street Journal, Spotify Studios

More episodes of The Journal.

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Journal. podcast page.