Americans took on $1.02 trillion in new debt last year, thanks to homes and cars

Two people receiving car keys.
(Image credit: Drazen Zigic/iStock.)

U.S. household debt increased $1.02 trillion last year, the most since a $1.06 trillion rise in 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Total consumer debt is now hovering around $15.6 trillion, versus $14.6 trillion a year ago.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.