Credit Card Statistics from Quick Debt Consolidation

While it's common knowledge that U.S. consumers use credit cards much more than they should, some of the following statistics might still surprise you:

• More than 2 million households in the U.S. owe at least $20,000 in credit card debt.
• In 1990, the average person's credit card debt was $2,966. In 2007, it was $9,840.
• People with revolving credit accounts paid $18.1 billion in penalty fees in 2007. Not a penny of that money went toward paying down their balances.
• 6 percent of people who owe more than $10,000 in credit card debt have household incomes of less than $50,000. 13 percent of them bring in less than $30,000 a year.
• Credit card delinquencies catapulted to a record high in January 2009, with payments at least 60 days late climbing to 3.75 percent.
• The Federal Reserve Bank reveals that 40 percent of U.S. families regularly spend more money than they earn.
• The average U.S. family's median debt jumped 9.6 percent between 1998 and 2001.
• More than 1.6 people filed for bankruptcy in 2003, setting an all-time record, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.
• Credit card distributors Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citigroup reported a combined 36 percent drop in revenue earned from credit card customers in the fourth quarter of 2008.
• A recent survey by the American Psychological Association revealed 75 percent of U.S. residents feel financial issues cause more stress in their lives than anything else. A separate poll found that women worry about debt more than men do.
• Every year, approximately 5.3 billion new credit cards are offered U.S. citizens.
• Credit card debt that was at least 30 days late amounted to $17.6 billion in October 2007, representing a 26 percent increase from the a year earlier.
• An overseas survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics found that 32 percent of those polled believe excessive debt is the biggest threat to the U.S., compared to only 20 percent who cited terrorism and the Middle East.
• 43 percent of first-year college student carry at least one credit card. That figure rises to 74 percent by the fourth year.
• Approximately 25 percent of college cardholders use their credit cards to pay tuition.
• In 1968, the total consumer credit card debt in the United States was about $8 billion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. Today it's more than $880 billion.
• Credit cards that offer points for merchandise or airline tickets have seen a 23 percent increase in usage over the last five years.
• More than 40 percent of U.S. residents between the ages of 18 and 21 have at least one credit card. 65 percent of them were approved after applying on the Internet.
• The average U.S. resident carries four credit cards in his or her wallet.
• 10 percent of U.S. consumers have 10 or more credit cards.
• An estimated $51 billion in credit card debt in 2006 resulted from fast food purchases. That figure was up from $33.2 billion one year earlier.
• A recent poll revealed that 29 percent of low- and middle-income households use credit cards to pay medical expenses.