Auto Loan Statistics (2026)

Auto loans are the third-largest kind of household debt in the US, behind mortgages and just ahead of student loans. The NY Fed counted $1.713 trillion in auto loan and lease balances at the end of June 2026, 9.1% of the $18.771 trillion households owe in total.

Two things stand out in the 2026 data. Borrowing is running at a record pace in dollar terms, and serious delinquency reached its highest level since the NY Fed series began in 2003. Both are true at once because most new lending goes to high-score borrowers while the strain sits with younger and lower-score ones.

Auto loan balances rose by $28 billion (1.7%) in the second quarter of 2026, to $1.713 trillion, a new high. That is up $58 billion, or 3.5%, from $1.655 trillion a year earlier.

Growth has been uneven. Balances were flat at about $1.655 trillion from Q4 2024 through Q3 2025, dipped to $1.642 trillion in Q1 2025, then climbed to $1.667 trillion at the end of 2025 and $1.685 trillion in Q1 2026 before the Q2 jump.

Auto debt has more than doubled since 2003, when balances stood at $0.704 trillion at year-end (see the chart below). It peaked at $0.821 trillion in 2006, fell during and after the financial crisis to a low of about $0.70 trillion in 2010, and has risen almost every year since.

The fastest stretch came after the pandemic. Balances were $1.331 trillion at the end of 2019, so the Q2 2026 total is $382 billion (28.7%) higher. Most of that came in 2021 and 2022, when balances rose by $84 billion and $94 billion as vehicle prices climbed.

Different sources report different totals because they count different things (see the table below). The NY Fed's $1.713 trillion comes from Equifax credit reports and includes leases. The Federal Reserve's G.19 release puts motor vehicle loans at $1,574.6 billion at the end of June 2026, counting loans held or securitized by banks, finance companies and credit unions for cars and light trucks.

Experian, a credit bureau, reported $1.574 trillion as of March 2026, up 2.0% from $1.543 trillion a year earlier, a figure that includes motorcycles and other personal vehicles. The G.19 series shows auto lending nearly stalled for two years: annual net flows fell from $106.8 billion in 2022 to $13.6 billion in 2024 and negative $2.1 billion in 2025, before a $59.6 billion annualized rebound in Q2 2026.

Consumer credit reports showed 109.01 million open auto loan accounts in Q2 2026, up from 108.13 million a year earlier. The NY Fed notes that these counts are not de-duplicated, so a joint loan counts twice.

The account count peaked at 115.98 million at the end of 2019 and has not returned there, even though balances are far higher. Fewer, larger loans is the pattern: dividing balances by accounts gives roughly $15,700 per account in Q2 2026 (a derived figure that includes leases and accounts near payoff).

Among consumers who have a car loan, the average balance was $24,909 in March 2026, up 2.1% from $24,408 a year earlier and $24,009 in 2024, according to Experian's auto loan debt study (industry data). The average monthly payment across all outstanding auto loans was $697, up 3.2% from $675.

Balances grew at nearly the same pace across FICO score bands, between 2.0% and 2.3%. Borrowers with good scores (670 to 739) carried the largest average balance at $27,131, while those with poor scores (300 to 579) averaged $22,304 and exceptional scores (800 to 850) averaged $23,310.

Texas carries the largest car loans in the country. Experian put the average Texas auto loan balance at $30,939 in March 2026, and New Mexico was the only other state above $30,000 at $30,583 (see the table below). Michigan ($19,754) and Rhode Island ($19,895) were the only states under $20,000.

Average balances fell in three states over the year: California (down 0.8%), Colorado (down 0.1%) and New Jersey (down 0.9%). The largest gains were in more rural states, led by West Virginia (up 4.8%) and Alaska (up 4.5%). The NY Fed's per-person measure tells the same story: auto debt per person with a credit report was $8,240 in Texas against $5,790 nationally in Q2 2026.

Lenders put $210.8 billion of new auto loans on consumer credit reports in the second quarter of 2026, the largest quarterly total in the NY Fed's origination series, which begins in 2004. The previous high was $201.9 billion in Q2 2021. The Q2 2026 figure was 12.2% above the $187.9 billion booked a year earlier.

On a full-year basis, originations totaled $718.2 billion in 2025, up from $704.0 billion in 2024 but below the $747.1 billion record of 2022 (see the table below). These are nominal dollars, so part of the long rise reflects higher vehicle prices.

The biggest single group of new auto borrowers has excellent credit. In Q2 2026, borrowers with Equifax Riskscores of 760 or higher took $86.1 billion of new loans, 40.9% of the total and a record for that tier (see the chart below). Scores of 660 to 719 accounted for $40.1 billion (19.0%) and 720 to 759 for $23.1 billion (10.9%).

Subprime borrowers, those under 620, took $34.0 billion, or 16.1%. That share has drifted down for two decades: it was 26.1% in 2005 and 30.0% in 2006. The 620 to 659 band did grow in Q2 2026, to $27.5 billion from $17.7 billion a year earlier.

The median credit score on a newly originated auto loan was 716 in Q2 2026, down seven points from 723 in Q1, which the NY Fed described as a slight worsening in credit quality. The median hit a series high of 730 in Q1 2025.

Further down the distribution, the 25th percentile score was 639 and the 10th percentile was 580 in Q2 2026. For comparison, the median was 674 at the end of 2005 and 716 at the end of 2009, when lenders tightened sharply after the financial crisis.

Borrowers in their 30s and 40s take out the most auto credit. In Q2 2026, people aged 40 to 49 originated $49.8 billion of auto loans and those aged 30 to 39 originated $47.7 billion, together about 46% of the quarter's total.

Older borrowers are a growing slice. People aged 70 and over originated $16.0 billion in Q2 2026, up from $10.2 billion in Q4 2019. Borrowers aged 18 to 29 originated $31.7 billion, those 50 to 59 originated $39.1 billion, and those 60 to 69 originated $26.1 billion.

The share of auto balances 90 or more days delinquent reached 5.6% in Q1 2026, the highest reading since the NY Fed series began in 2003 and above the 5.27% seen at the end of 2010 (see the chart below). It eased to 5.49% in Q2 2026.

The rate has climbed since a post-pandemic low of 3.73% at the end of 2022. Auto delinquency is still far below credit cards (12.92% of balances 90+ days late) and student loans (10.6%) in Q2 2026.

The flow measures show how many current borrowers are newly falling behind. In Q2 2026, 7.87% of auto balances transitioned into early delinquency (30+ days) on an annualized basis, up from 7.72% in Q1. The NY Fed noted that the transition into early delinquency ticked up slightly for auto loans that quarter (see the table below).

The flow into serious delinquency (90+ days) was 3.00%, the highest since early 2010 on this measure but still below the 3.48% peak in Q2 2009. The flow into early delinquency was much higher during the financial crisis, peaking at 10.85% in Q2 2009, so the record share of balances already 90+ days late is not matched by a crisis-level rate of new delinquencies.

Younger borrowers fall behind far more often. Over the four quarters to Q2 2026, 4.84% of auto balances held by 18 to 29 year olds moved into serious delinquency, compared with 3.91% for those 30 to 39, 2.79% for 40 to 49, 2.19% for 50 to 59 and 1.77% for 60 to 69 (see the chart below).

The rate for borrowers 70 and older, 2.45%, has risen from 1.81% at the end of 2019, and every age group is above its end-2019 level. The youngest group was already the highest then, at 4.06%.

The Federal Reserve's G.19 survey of commercial banks put the average rate on a 60-month new-car loan at 7.54% in August 2026, up from 7.14% in May and far above the 4.82% average of 2021 (see the table below). The 72-month rate was 7.17%. Bank rates peaked on an annual basis in 2024, at 8.16% for 60 months and 8.29% for 72 months.

Finance companies, including the captive lenders owned by carmakers, charged a lower average of 6.3% on new-car loans in June 2026, down from 6.7% in 2023.

Credit scores drive most of the variation in what borrowers pay. Experian's Q2 2026 data (industry, VantageScore 4.0) shows new-car APRs ranging from 4.41% for super prime borrowers to 16.11% for deep subprime borrowers, and used-car APRs from 6.29% to 21.62% (see the table below).

Used cars cost more to finance at every tier. The overall average was 6.35% for new-car loans and 11.19% for used-car loans, and the average new-car borrower had a 751 score against 688 for used-car borrowers.

Long loans are now standard. Finance company new-car loans averaged 67 months in June 2026 and an amount financed of $41,705, up from $35,307 in 2021, according to the Fed's G.19. Experian put the average Q2 2026 term at 69.5 months for new loans and 67.9 months for used loans, with average amounts of $43,610 and $27,852.

Terms stretch longest in the middle of the credit range. Near prime new-car borrowers averaged 75.6 months in Q2 2026, about 10.7 months longer than super prime borrowers at 64.9 months. Longer terms lower the monthly payment but raise total interest paid and keep balances above the car's value for longer.

Experian put the average monthly payment at $765 for new-car loans and $542 for used-car loans in Q2 2026, with 83% of new-car buyers and 38% of used-car buyers financing their purchase. Near prime borrowers had the highest average new-car payment, $816, despite borrowing amounts similar to prime borrowers, because their rates were higher.

Payments by credit tier are flatter than rates because lower-score borrowers tend to borrow less. For what the cars themselves cost, including average transaction prices, see our car price statistics.

Auto debt sits between mortgages and credit cards in both size and risk. Its 5.49% serious delinquency rate is several times the mortgage rate (0.99%) but well under half the credit card rate (12.92%) in Q2 2026. Unlike a credit card balance, an auto loan is secured by the vehicle.

A car payment is also money that is not going into savings or investments each month. Walnut, an AI investing app, can read a connected brokerage account to show how someone's own invested money is doing alongside those other obligations.