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Consumer Credit Explorer Calculations

Percent of consumers with debt

Calculated as the number of consumers1 with total debt greater than $0 divided by the total number of consumers included in the CCP.

Percent of borrowers with debt (for each credit type)

Calculated as the number of borrowers2 with debt greater than $0 for a given credit type divided by the total number of borrowers.

Percent of consumers with a credit utilization rate of 75 percent or more

Calculated as the share of borrowers with debt greater than $0 for a given revolving credit type (e.g., HELOC or credit card), for which outstanding debt is equal to or greater than 75 percent of their total credit limit for that type of credit.

Average debt

Calculated as the average of balances for borrowers with outstanding debt (debt greater than $0) for a given credit type.

Percent of borrowers with severely delinquent debt

Calculated as the number of borrowers with at least one severely delinquent account for a given credit type divided by the number of borrowers with debt of that type.

Severe delinquency is defined as having at least one account 90+ days past due (DPD), in collections, or classified as severely derogatory. For student loans, this includes loans that are 30+ DPD, although many lenders do not begin to report past-due student loans until payments are 90+ DPD. However, this measure may underestimate effective delinquency rates for student loans since roughly half of these loans are in deferment, grace periods, or forbearance.3

Delinquency rates provided in this analysis may differ from estimates from other sources in at least two ways. First, these rates reflect the percent of individuals with a delinquent account rather than the percent of outstanding debt (or loans) past due. Second, the delinquency rates presented here include individuals with accounts that lenders have likely closed and charged off the balance because they no longer expect repayment. Many lenders will report a charged-off account in the period in which it occurs but not thereafter. In the CCP, serious derogatory accounts (including ones charged off) can be reported for up to seven years. To the extent that lenders continue to report these accounts, they will be reflected in these charts.

Percent change in debt vs. one year prior

Calculated as the year-over-year percent change in aggregate debt in category, adjusted for inflation.

Percent of consumers with collections

Calculated as the number of consumers with at least one third-party collection recorded on their credit report as a percent of all consumers in the sample. A resolved collection may continue to appear on a consumer’s credit report for up to seven years.

Percent of consumers with limited credit history or poor/fair credit

Calculated as the number of consumers with either no credit score or with a credit score less than 660 as a percent of all consumers in the sample. Sums the share of consumers with near-prime credit, subprime credit, and limited credit history. Before Q2 2025, credit scores are Equifax Risk Scores; starting in Q2 2025, credit scores are VantageScores.

Percent of consumers with near-prime credit

Calculated as the number of consumers with a credit score 600–659 as a percent of all consumers in the sample. Before Q2 2025, credit scores are Equifax Risk Scores; starting in Q2 2025, credit scores are VantageScores.

Percent of consumers with subprime credit

Calculated as the number of consumers with a credit score less than 600 as a percent of all consumers in the sample. Before Q2 2025, credit scores are Equifax Risk Scores; starting in Q2 2025, credit scores are VantageScores.

Percent of consumers with limited credit history

Calculated as the number of consumers with no credit score4 as a percent of all consumers in the sample. Before Q2 2025, credit scores are Equifax Risk Scores; starting in Q2 2025, credit scores are VantageScores.

1

Consumers refers to the full sample of individuals with a Social Security number and credit file included in the CCP.

2

Borrowers refers to consumers with total debt greater than $0.

3

For details, see Meta Brown, Andrew Haughwout, Donghoon Lee, et al., “Grading Student Loans,” Liberty Street Economics (blog), March 2012.

4

This occurs when the information in a consumer’s credit file is insufficient to generate a score. These are sometimes referred to as “thin files” or “unscored” records. VantageScore (used starting in Q2 2025) scores more consumers with limited credit histories than Equifax Risk Score (used before Q2 2025). For more information, see “Data Point: Credit Invisibles,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Research, May 2015.