One in four Americans with a credit file is now behind on paying off medical bills, student loans, or car and retail debt.
Story Snapshot
- A new Urban Institute analysis of more than 10 million credit records finds 24% of people with a credit record are behind on medical, student, auto, or retail debt.
- The median amount owed by someone counted as behind is $2,913.
- The share has climbed from under 23% in 2025, a rise of about one percentage point in a single year.
- Communities of color show a higher rate, with 30% behind and a median debt in collection of $3,009.
A Nonpartisan Group Puts A Number On The Squeeze
The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research group, combined over 10 million credit records with Census data to measure how many Americans are struggling to pay their bills. The result: roughly 24% of people with a credit record are behind on medical bills, student debt, or auto and retail loans. That is not a small slice of the country. It points to millions of households falling behind on everyday obligations.
The typical overdue balance sits at $2,913, a figure that tells its own story. This is not luxury spending or runaway credit-card binges. It is the kind of debt that piles up from a hospital visit, a car repair, or a tuition bill that would not wait. For many families, that amount represents weeks of take-home pay, not pocket change.
The Trend Line Is Moving In The Wrong Direction
A year ago, the share of Americans behind on these debts sat under 23%. Now it has climbed past 24%, a jump of about one percentage point. That may sound small, but across a population this size, a single point translates into millions more people falling behind. The direction matters as much as the number itself, and right now the direction is up.
Breno Braga, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s family and financial well-being division, put it plainly. “The increasing cost of living makes it harder for people to make payments on basic needs,” he told CBS News. That is not a politically loaded statement. It is a simple observation from someone who studies the data for a living, and it matches what families have been saying at kitchen tables for months.
Some Groups Are Feeling It Harder Than Others
The analysis breaks down further once you look at specific groups. In communities of color, 30% of people are behind on payments, with a median debt in collection of $3,009. Nearly 16% of student-loan borrowers are behind as well. These are not uniform struggles. They land harder on some families than others, and the gaps show up clearly in the numbers.
It is worth remembering that this 24% figure covers people with a credit record, not every single American adult. People without a credit history are not part of this count. The debts included are medical, student, auto, and retail, not every type of household debt like mortgages or credit cards. That distinction matters for understanding exactly what the number measures.
How This Fits The Bigger Debt Picture
Other data backs up the broader trend, even if the measuring sticks differ. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that 4.5% of all outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency in the third quarter of 2025, rising again to 4.8% by the fourth quarter. That measure counts dollars behind, not people behind, which is why it looks smaller than the Urban Institute’s 24%. Both numbers point the same direction: more trouble, not less.
Credit card and auto loan delinquencies have also stayed elevated by historical standards, according to Federal Reserve financial stability reporting. None of this happens in a vacuum. Grocery bills, rent, insurance, and gas have all stretched household budgets thinner over the past few years, and when something has to give, it is often the medical bill or the car payment that slips first.
For American families watching their paychecks shrink against rising prices, this data confirms what plenty already sense in their bank accounts. Washington can debate inflation statistics all it wants. Families are the ones deciding which bill gets paid this month and which one waits. That is the real weight behind a number like 24%, and it is a weight households are carrying without much relief in sight.
