Household debt to GDP ratio in the U.S. 2014-2024

In the first quarter of 2024, household debt in the United States amounted to over 71 percent of its GDP. It can be generally observed that U.S. households are more indebted by the end of the year than in any other quarter. The debt of households peaked in the last quarter of 2020, reaching the highest value since 2013. 

Debt to GDP ratio

As it can be observed here, the household debt to GDP ratio decreased overall in the recent years. The steady growth of the gross domestic product in the United States could be a factor explaining this tendency. If the volume of debt grows at a slower pace than the GDP, the debt to GDP ratio would decrease. In addition to that, the overall value of mortgage debt in the U.S., which is the most significant component of the household debt, decreased from 2012 to the third quarter of 2014, but it has rebounded since then.

Public debt in the U.S.

Public debt in the United States, which is the amount of money borrowed by the government to finance budget deficits, has been increasing almost every single year. Not only that, but according to that forecast it is also expected to keep increasing during the coming years. The major holders of American government debt, as of December 2022, were Federal Reserve and government accounts and foreign and international holders. The ratio of national debt to GDP of the United States was higher than that of other major economies, but lower than that of Japan. Some of the lowest debt to GDP ratios were observed in Hong Kong SAR, Kuwait, and Turkmenistan.