In the second quarter of 2026, required household debt payments were 11.11% of disposable personal income. Consumer debt payments, such as cards and auto loans, were 5.28%. A year earlier the figures were 11.12% and 5.30%. At the end of 2019 they were 11.73% and 5.81%.
The series as we pulled it starts in the first quarter of 2005. The lowest quarter in it was the first quarter of 2021, at 9.05% for all household debt and 4.29% for consumer debt. The highest consumer figure was 7.31% in Q4 2005, and the highest household figure was 15.85% in Q4 2007.
What the ratio is
The Federal Reserve defines the household debt service ratio as the ratio of total required household debt payments to total disposable income. It has two parts: the mortgage ratio and the consumer ratio, and the two add up to the total. The consumer part is scheduled consumer debt payments divided by disposable personal income. Our last column subtracts the consumer ratio from the total to show the mortgage part. It is required payments, so it does not show whether anyone is behind.
This is a national average. It does not tell you what share of income any one household pays.
| Quarter | All household debt payments | Consumer debt payments | Mortgage portion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2005 (first in the series) | 14.80% | 7.30% | 7.50% |
| Q4 2005 (highest consumer share) | 15.03% | 7.31% | 7.72% |
| Q4 2007 (highest household share) | 15.85% | 6.89% | 8.95% |
| Q4 2019 | 11.73% | 5.81% | 5.92% |
| Q1 2021 (lowest in the series) | 9.05% | 4.29% | 4.76% |
| Q2 2025 | 11.12% | 5.30% | 5.83% |
| Q2 2026 (latest) | 11.11% | 5.28% | 5.83% |
Quarters are labelled by the calendar quarter. The CSV gives the first day of each quarter.
Source
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Household Debt Service and Financial Obligations Ratios, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (TDSP and CDSP, seasonally adjusted, quarterly). U.S. government data; the Fed asks for citation. We pulled the series on October 11, 2026. Our table and the mortgage-portion subtraction are available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Debt Payments as a Share of Income," My Credit Guide, October 11, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/debt-payments-share-of-income/.
To work out your own payments, use the payoff calculator or the snowball and avalanche calculator.