A new study of American debt by Spinwheel shows Americans are carrying record levels. The danger increases as they add multiple debt types. Spinwheel analyzed $2.9 billion in consumer debt from more than 20,000 borrowers between November, 2025 and this May.
Simply adding one debt type dramatically increases obligations, Spinwheel’s Jessica Kendall said. Moving from one to two increases the median balance more than tenfold, from $2,755 to $28,251. Adding a third type hikes balances by more than 600%.
“This is likely driven heavily by home loans,” Kendall said. “However, even if you exclude home loans, total balances are still 7.3 times higher when a second debt type enters the picture.
“This isn’t additive. It’s multiplicative. Crossing into multiple debt categories appears to fundamentally change a borrower’s financial profile. The single most predictive signal for total debt burden is the number of debt types being managed simultaneously.”
While 70 cents per dollar goes toward home loans, it’s the debt type with the fewest number of consumers. And while more than 90% of consumers carry a credit card balance, their collective debt is only 7.2% of money owed:
- Home loans accounted for $2.03 billion of the $2.9 billion studied. One in three borrowers carry a balance, with the average being $288,971.
- Auto loans come in next at $264 million. Roughly 49.4% carry an average balance of $25,450.
- Student loans totalled $236 million and an average balance of $50,257 avg balance. Between one in four and one in five carry a balance.
- Credit card debt was $211 million, with 93.7% carrying a balance averaging $10,715.
- Personal loan debt was $163 million, and the average balance was $17,774; 43.8% carried a balance.
More cards = Spending changes
Credit utilization changes as consumers acquire more cards. Those with one or two cards use 36.3% of available credit, while those with more than 25 use 20.9%.
“This likely reflects a financially sophisticated subpopulation of consumers who are optimizing for rewards, taking advantage of low interest rates by opening new cards, and building credit by holding cards they don’t actively use,” Kendall said.
Spinwheel: Auto loans are a hidden danger
Spinwheel sounded the alarm on auto loans, which, when excluding mortgages, are the top debt type and second-most common.
“The median auto payment is $582 per month, consuming 9.5% of the U.S. median household income with a single monthly car payment,” Kendall said. “This means the far larger and less visible crisis may be that Americans are systematically over-leveraged on depreciating assets.”
Additional findings
The Spinwheel report identifies a precarious middle borrowing tier. Folks with “good” scores of 670-739 carry the most debt, while “very good” (740-799 have the most personal and student loan debt.
“These borrowers likely occupy a financially precarious middle ground: creditworthy enough to access large amounts of debt, but leveraged enough to prevent their scores from moving into the highest tier,” Kendall explained. “Among those with the highest credit scores, the data shows borrowers with the best credit scores carry less unsecured debt — those with ‘excellent’ scores – have the lowest average credit card and student loan balances of any tier.
“The single biggest blind spot in an averages-only analysis of total debt is mixing different types of balance sheets. For instance, a $200K mortgage is completely different from $200K in credit card debt. High-score borrowers carry more dollars but a much healthier mix. Secured balances grow by more than 4 times from borrowers with ‘poor’ credit scores to ‘excellent’ scores.”
Spinwheel warns that amassing multiple debt types compounds pressures more than traditional metrics can assess. Credit scores could suggest payment consistency more while masking other dangers.
“Even the largest debt burdens are no longer concentrated where many institutions assume they are,” Kendall concluded. “The result is a consumer credit system that often measures payment behavior more effectively than financial resilience. For lenders and fintechs, that means the next generation of underwriting and financial wellness tools cannot rely solely on isolated balances, utilization ratios, or credit scores.”