Data through: Q2 2026 · updated Aug 26 · Updates: Quarterly
↓ 0.2 pp YoY
Historical context: Currently in the 31st percentile of all historical readings.
What this means right now: Card delinquency is moderate — between 2.5% and 3.5%, which is still below the typical level since 1991 (3.8%). Roughly 1 quarter in 4 has been in this band (35 of 142). The current period began in the second quarter of 2023.
Credit Card Delinquency Rate — the last 8 quarters
Every quarter's reading, with the band the heatmap gives it. The chart above shows the same series in full.
Quarter
Value
Band
Q2 2026
2.85%
Within normal range
Q1 2026
2.91%
Within normal range
Q4 2025
2.95%
Within normal range
Q3 2025
2.99%
Within normal range
Q2 2025
3.04%
Within normal range
Q1 2025
3.05%
Within normal range
Quarter-end readings of the same series as the chart. Values are the current record, not point-in-time: a month that has since been revised shows its revised value.
What is the CC Delinquency?
The credit card delinquency rate is the share of credit-card balances at banks on which payments are 30 or more days late. It is one of the quickest measures of household financial stress. A card is unsecured — there is no house or car for the lender to take back — so the rate shows directly how many households can no longer keep up.
Cards have tended to show trouble early. When the rate turned up in 2000, 2005–06 and 2021–22, it rose before the rate on all bank loans did. Against mortgages the record is mixed: cards turned first in 2021, but in 1999 and 2004 the mortgage rate rose first. By the time households fall behind on their cards, they have usually already used up the easier cushions — savings, family help, cutting back — and cannot make even the minimum payment.
How We Color-Code the CC Delinquency
Our heatmap colors this indicator against historically significant thresholds:
Below 1.50%
Very low — below 1.5%, lower than the series has ever been (its low was 1.53% in Q3 2021)
1.50% – 2.50%
Low — 1.5% to 2.5%, about 1 quarter in 5 (29 of 142), all in 2013–17 and 2020–23
2.50% – 3.50%
Moderate — 2.5% to 3.5%, still below the series' typical level of about 3.8%
3.50% – 5.00%
Elevated — 3.5% to 5%, about 5 in 10 of all quarters (65 of 142), most of them in 1992–2008
Above 5.00%
High — above 5%, only 13 quarters, in 1991–92 and 2008–10; the peak was 6.77% in Q2 2009
Historical Extremes — What Happened Next?
When this indicator reaches extreme levels, history shows consistent patterns:
Q2 2009Financial Crisis Peak
6.77%
The highest card delinquency on record. Unemployment was on its way to 10.0% (October 2009) and home values had collapsed, so households were hit on jobs, wealth and credit at once.
Q3 2021Stimulus-Era Low
1.53%
The record low since the series began in 1991, 1.53% in Q3 2021: stimulus checks, extra unemployment benefits and paused student-loan payments briefly took the pressure off nearly every household.
Q2 2024Back to normal, then higher
3.22%
The rate climbed from its 2021 low to 3.22% as the stimulus ran out, inflation ate into paychecks and interest rates rose. That was still below the 3.9–4.6% of 2006–07, and it has eased since.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is credit card delinquency such a sensitive stress indicator?
Because a missed card payment usually comes last. Households run down savings, skip other bills and borrow from family before they miss a card minimum. So when card delinquency rises, it means those other options have already been used up.
Are credit card delinquencies a leading or lagging indicator?
Mostly it moves with the economy rather than ahead of it. Its upturns in 2000 and 2006 were published after weekly jobless claims had already turned. In 2021–22 it turned first, about two months before claims did. Against mortgage delinquency it led only in the 2020s; in 1999 and 2004 the mortgage rate rose first. The rate is quarterly, and it has risen three quarters in a row eight times since 1991. A recession began within 18 months in 3 of those 8 (2001, 2008 and 2020) and in none of the other 5.
Is there a delinquency rate at which consumer spending starts to fall?
The record does not point to one, and 3% — the level people often ask about — is not rare. The rate has been above 3% in about two thirds of all quarters (92 of 142): from 1991 to early 2012, and again from late 2023 to mid-2025. The typical reading over the whole record is 3.8%; readings between 1.5% and 2.5% cover only 29 of the 142 quarters (2013–17 and 2020–23). The one time the rate crossed above 3% from below, in Q4 2023, spending did not fall: real retail sales were higher a year later. The site holds no data on card lending standards, credit limits or new cards issued, so it cannot say what banks did at any level.
How do credit card delinquency trends relate to charge-off rates and bank earnings?
A loan is late before it is written off, so the delinquency rate moves first and charge-offs follow — and banks set aside money for losses as delinquencies rise. The site does not hold a card charge-off series, so it does not measure how long the lag is.