Consumer Credit Outstanding
Total consumer credit outstanding (the Fed's G.19 release) sums revolving credit (mostly credit cards) and nonrevolving credit (auto and student loans), excluding mortgages. The year-over-year growth rate shows whether households are leaning harder on borrowing to sustain spending.
Latest reading
As of April 2026, Consumer Credit (YoY %) stands at 2.3% — up from 2.2% the prior reading. Steady single-digit growth is normal in an expansion. Accelerating revolving (credit-card) balances late in a cycle often signal stretched budgets, while a sharp slowdown or outright contraction (2009, 2020) marks deleveraging and retrenchment. Read credit growth against income and the saving rate — borrowing that consistently outpaces income growth is a late-cycle warning, not a sign of strength. Series history runs from 1943 to present.
YoY %
Next release: Jul 8, 2026
Full history
Methodology & data
Consumer Credit is sourced from Fed via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (Federal Reserve G.19 via FRED (TOTALSL), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-06-20. See our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Consumer Credit Outstanding?
Total consumer credit outstanding (the Fed's G.19 release) sums revolving credit (mostly credit cards) and nonrevolving credit (auto and student loans), excluding mortgages. The year-over-year growth rate shows whether households are leaning harder on borrowing to sustain spending.
How do you read Consumer Credit?
Steady single-digit growth is normal in an expansion. Accelerating revolving (credit-card) balances late in a cycle often signal stretched budgets, while a sharp slowdown or outright contraction (2009, 2020) marks deleveraging and retrenchment. Read credit growth against income and the saving rate — borrowing that consistently outpaces income growth is a late-cycle warning, not a sign of strength.
Where does the Consumer Credit data come from?
Federal Reserve G.19 via FRED (TOTALSL), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/consumer-credit.csv.
How often is Consumer Credit updated?
Consumer Credit is a monthly series from Fed, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.