US credit card delinquency rate, 1991 to 2026
US credit card delinquency rate stood at 2.92% in 2026, down 2bp on the previous period.
The latest reading is 2.92 percent, for January 2026, against 2.94 percent in October 2025. The series is quarterly (FRED series DRCCLACBS) and runs from January 1991.
How it is measured
The share of credit card balances at commercial banks that are at least 30 days past due, from Federal Reserve supervisory data, quarterly and seasonally adjusted. Card debt goes delinquent first when households are squeezed, which makes this the canary of consumer credit. The data reaches us through FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's data service, and originates with the Federal Reserve's bank supervisory data.
What the curve shows
Delinquency has run between 1.53 percent (July 2021) and 6.77 percent (April 2009) over the window. The line rises before recessions announce themselves in employment data: households strained by prices or job loss stop paying the most expensive, least secured debt first.
Why cards and not mortgages?
What is a normal level?
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