Credit Karma released a new snapshot of consumer debt based on data from more than 107.3 million members as of July 2026. The aggregate debt across these accounts totals over $10.6 trillion, and the average overall balance rose to $60,112 between April and June 2026 – a 2.38% increase from the fourth quarter of 2025.

Debt categories on the rise

Three of the four major debt categories grew in the second quarter of 2026. Student loan balances saw the sharpest jump, increasing 6.30% to an average of $36,217 per borrower. Auto loan balances rose 2.14% to $26,359, while mortgage balances grew modestly 0.96% to $274,987. Credit card debt was the only category to decline, falling 2.30% to an average of $7,685.

Generation Z leads debt growth

Generation Z posted the fastest‑growing average debt of any generation between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026. While their average credit‑card debt was essentially flat, they experienced a notable rise in other obligations, especially student loans, which grew 10.47% for this cohort.

Credit health and collections

The average VantageScore 3.0 for members with debt improved to 676, up three points from the previous quarter. Among those with accounts in collections, the number of open collection accounts remained largely unchanged, though younger generations saw slight increases.

Credit inquiries ease

Average credit inquiries fell slightly or stayed flat across generations, indicating that Americans are pulling back on new credit applications as they manage higher debt levels and a rise in collections.

All data were drawn from members’ TransUnion credit reports as of July 13 2026 and reflect activity over the prior 90 days. The report was produced by Intuit Credit Karma and distributed by Stacker.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.