Summary
A Boston Federal Reserve study shows how credit card debts and credit limits rise and then fall over the course of the average consumer’s lifetime
The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Please review our list of best credit cards, or use our CardMatch™ tool to find cards matched to your needs.
Your credit cards journey is officially underway.
Keep an eye on your inbox—we’ll be sending over your first message soon.
Youths start out with not much credit, but they quickly gobble up most of it. From there, credit card debt starts rising, but credit card limits rise even faster.
A cardholder’s late 40s see the start of phase two, where median debt begins tapering downward. Because credit limits continue rising to a peak in people’s mid-60s, credit utilization — or the percentage of available credit being used — drops from 16 percent at age 47 down to 8 percent by age 64.
The third and last phase typically begins in an Americans’ late 60s, when credit limits stop climbing and begin to descend. With debt declining as well, credit utilization falls below 5 percent around age 74.
The study, “Consumer Revolving Credit and Debt Over the Life Cycle and Business Cycle,” by Scott L. Fulford and Scott Schuh, drew from a 5 percent sample of every credit account in the United States from 1999 to 2014 from the credit reporting agency Equifax. Demographics of the sample were determined to match the overall population very closely since the vast majority of Americans over the age of 18 has a credit bureau account.
See related:Infographic: Baby boomers have the most credit pride, More infographics
To use the graphic on your site, use the following code:
<center><a href=”https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/infographic-life-cycle-credit-card-1701/”><img alt=”CreditCards.com infographic: The life cycle of a credit card” border=”0″ src=”https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/images/credit-limits-debt-by-age.png” /></a> </center>
Editorial Disclaimer
The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven by advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners.