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Credit-Card Rate (Balances)

Average rate on the card accounts that actually carry a balance.

Credit-Card Rate (Balances)
22.1%
Percent · latest, May 2026
vs prior month▲ 0.6 pp
vs year ago▼ 0.1 pp
2001 Recession · Mar 2001 – Nov 2001Global Financial Crisis · Dec 2007 – Jun 2009COVID-19 Recession · Feb 2020 – Apr 202012%14%16%18%20%22%199520002005201020152020202522.1%
Credit-Card Rate (Balances) — one value per year; US recessions are shaded on the chart.
YearCredit-Card Rate (Balances)
199415.8%
199515.7%
199615.5%
199715.7%
199815.7%
199914.8%
200015.3%
200113.9%
200212.8%
200312.9%
200413.9%
200514.5%
200615.1%
200714.4%
200813.4%
200914.4%
201013.7%
201112.8%
201212.8%
201312.9%
201413.7%
201513.7%
201613.6%
201715.0%
201816.9%
201916.9%
202016.3%
202116.4%
202220.4%
202322.8%
202422.8%
202522.3%
202622.1%

Hover the line to read any month. Drag across the chart to zoom; double-click to reset.

Source: FRED · TERMCBCCINTNS · series · Nov 1994 to May 2026 · latest-revised

Refreshed Jul 31, 2026 from FRED.

Average rate on the card accounts that actually carry a balance.

Average rate on credit-card accounts that are assessed interest (i.e. carry a balance).

Source: FRED · May 2026 · Full lesson → Learn

About the bands. Shaded spans are NBER-dated US recessions, drawn as factual overlays. They mark when the economy contracted, not why. Lining an event up with a move is not evidence it caused the move.