Fed Finds US Families Fall Behind on Debt at Highest Level Since 2010

US households are struggling to keep up with debt payments at the highest rate in more than a decade, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Friday, October 9, 2026. The findings cover financial conditions through 2025 and show that nearly one in five families fell behind on loan payments, raising concerns about household financial stability despite continued economic growth.

The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances found that the share of families behind on loan payments climbed to nearly 20% at the end of 2025, up from about 12% in the previous survey covering 2019 through 2022. The increase was approximately 67%, marking the highest level since 2010, when the United States was recovering from the Great Recession.

Delinquencies lasting at least two months also increased substantially, rising to more than 8% from 5% in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve. The share of families whose debt payments exceeded 40% of their income reached 8.6%, compared with 6.5% in 2022, the highest level since 2013.

The Federal Reserve described the deterioration in debt repayment as a significant change in household finances.

"Families were more likely to be behind on their financial obligations than at any point since the 2010 survey," the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances stated.

The survey comes amid persistent financial concerns among American households. A separate New York Fed survey released earlier in the week found that households viewed their financial situations as worse than a year earlier and expected conditions to weaken further over the following year.

The Great Recession, which lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, followed a collapse in the subprime mortgage market that spread financial distress across major US and global financial institutions. Unemployment reached 10% at one point during that downturn.

Despite growing pressure from debt payments, household income and wealth indicators showed mixed results during the latest survey period. Inflation-adjusted median family income increased 7%, while average family income declined 6%, according to the Federal Reserve.

The central bank reported that income gains were concentrated among lower-income households, while families at the upper end of the income and wealth distributions experienced declines in both median and average income.

"Families in the lower ends of the income and net worth distributions saw modest increases in median and mean income, while families in the upper ends saw declines," the report stated. "These patterns indicate that income inequality decreased slightly between surveys."

Income trends also varied by age. Families aged 75 or older recorded particularly strong income gains, while income among families aged 35 to 44 fell 25%, a decline the Federal Reserve attributed to lower capital gains income for that group.

The report identified additional exceptions among Black non-Hispanic families, Asian families, and households near the top of the income and wealth distributions.

"The exceptions to the general pattern of a rise in median income were for Black non-Hispanic families, Asian families, and families toward the top of the usual income and net worth distributions," the report stated. "For these families, both median and mean income fell."

Overall household wealth increased, although gains were considerably slower than during the 2019-2022 period. Inflation-adjusted average net worth rose 7% to $1.24 million, while median net worth increased just 2% to $215,900, according to the Federal Reserve.

Wealth gains were unevenly distributed. Families in the highest income group recorded a 31% increase in median net worth, while median net worth among families in the bottom quarter of the income distribution fell 6%. Their average net worth declined 4%.

Educational attainment was also associated with substantial financial differences. Families with a college degree had 1.9 times the median income of those with some college education and nearly three times their median net worth, according to the survey.