The Federal Reserve released results of its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances on Friday, finding that nearly one in five American families had fallen behind on debt payments by the end of 2025 — a level not reached since the 2010 survey, when the U.S. was emerging from the Great Recession.
That rate jumped to nearly 20%, up from about 12% in the 2022 survey, according to CNBC . The share of families at least two months overdue on payments also increased, reaching more than 8% compared with 5% in 2022, according to CNBC.
The survey, conducted every three years, also showed that the proportion of families whose debt payments consumed more than 40% of their income increased to 8.6% from 6.5% in 2022 — a figure not seen since the 2013 survey, the Fed said.
Despite the deterioration in debt repayment, other financial indicators showed improvement. Real median family income rose 7% to $82,200 between the 2022 and 2025 surveys, while real median net worth rose 2% to $215,900, the Fed said. On a mean basis, real net worth reached $1.24 million, a 7% increase.
The income gains were not uniform. Households headed by someone 75 or older recorded strong growth, while the 35-to-44 age bracket saw a 25% drop that the Fed tied to reduced capital gains for that cohort, according to CNBC. Median income also fell for Black non-Hispanic families, Asian families, and households at the top of the income and net worth distributions.
The homeownership rate held roughly steady at 66%, and median net housing value rose to $230,000 from $218,900 in 2022, the Fed said. Retirement plan participation edged up to around 65%, and median stock holdings among those holding equities grew 36% to $77,400.
Friday's findings add to a pattern of mounting financial strain on American households. U.S. household debt reached a record $18.8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025 , with FHA mortgage delinquency rates at levels last seen around 2012 and student loan delinquencies rising after the federal government restarted repayment. A separate analysis found delinquency rates climbing across income levels, from the lowest-income ZIP codes to the highest.
Credit card balances have also remained elevated. American cardholders carried $1.26 trillion in card debt in the second quarter of 2026 , just below the record $1.28 trillion reached at the end of 2025.
The survey is conducted for the Fed by NORC, a social science research organization at the University of Chicago, using a random sample drawn from 119 geographic areas across the country.
