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 Equifax Risk Score or with an Equifax Risk 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.

Percent of consumers with near-prime credit

Calculated as the number of consumers with an Equifax Risk Score 600–659 as a percent of all consumers in the sample.

Percent of consumers with subprime credit

Calculated as the number of consumers with an Equifax Risk Score less than 600 as a percent of all consumers in the sample.

Percent of consumers with limited credit history

Calculated as the number of consumers with no Equifax Risk Score⁴ as a percent of all consumers in the sample.