Friday, April 3, 2026

Average Millennial Owes $117K

Thu, 28 July 2022  |  consumers debt 

Almost all (90%) of American millennials have experienced non-mortgage credit at one point or another, with 72% of millennials currently owing non-mortgage debt of $117,000 on average, according to a new report by Real Estate Witch, an online publication that provides expert real estate advice.

A survey of 1,000 millennials found that 67% had credit card debt. This makes it the most common type of debt among them. The average credit card debt amount is $5,349.

Student loan debt was next, with 48% of millennials reporting they had student loans and owed an average $126,993. 40% of millennials earn less than $50,000 per year, so 24% regret not choosing a higher-paying career, and 22% regret getting student loans.

While 63% believe that it will take them between one and five years to pay down their debts, nearly 10% of millennials think it will take longer than 10 years. Only 6% of millennials believe they will ever pay off their debt.

Survey results showed that nearly half of millennials (47%) spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. This is 1.5x what financial experts recommend. With housing prices rising, one third of millennial renters don’t believe they will ever afford a house.

While the average millennial has $49,463 in savings, one in seven report that they have no savings. According to 37% of respondents, their biggest financial regret was not saving enough.

The financial situation for millennials today is dire. One in four doubt they could afford $500 to cover an emergency, one fifth say they cannot afford children and one fourth don't know their credit score.

It is not surprising that 41% of millennials are pessimistic about their financial future.