Credit card debt is no longer just a burden for low-income households. Middle-class Americans are increasingly feeling the strain, even as inflation has cooled from its pandemic peaks.
Data from the nonprofit American Consumer Credit Counseling shows that 43% of Americans struggling with credit card debt hold a four-year university or master's degree, according to a report by The Telegraph. This marks an increase from 34% in 2021.
"Inflation has slowed, but what people don't realize is that consumers have been financing inflation all along," said Kenneth Mohammed, director of counseling with ACCC, in the report. "They have been using credit card debt to survive. Then you reach a point where you're over-indebted and cannot borrow any further."
One 38-year-old Reddit user, who has $17,000 in debt across three credit cards and can only afford minimum monthly payments, expressed despair online, asking, "Is there any hope? Am I doomed forever?"
Overall U.S. household debt, including mortgages, car loans, and student loans, has reached a record high, according to the latest Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. Credit card balances alone stood at $1.23 trillion in the third quarter of 2025.
Brookings research found that one-third of middle-class families struggle to afford basic necessities like food, housing, and child care.
While President Donald Trump has dismissed affordability concerns as a "hoax" and a "con job" by Democrats, ACCC attributes the trend to high living costs lingering from the pandemic, forcing Americans to rely on credit cards to make ends meet.
The inflation rate dropped to 2.7% in November, though data may have been affected by a 43-day federal government shutdown.
"Prices are up 25% over the past 5 years," wrote Quentin Fottrell of MarketWatch, noting that "a slowdown in wage growth will create silent pain in 2026." He predicted consumers will continue to "spend and rack up record credit-card debt."
Bank of America's 2025 Workplace Benefits Report states that 85% of U.S. workers carry personal debt, with 58% having credit card debt. "With consumer debt skyrocketing, employees are struggling to juggle saving for a potential future emergency with paying their current debts today," the report said.