Show Me the Numbers!

Key Metrics for Working-Age Individuals

Median weekly earnings in the U.S.: $1,165

Percentage of adults with credit card debt: 41%

Percentage of households carrying a mortgage: 24%

Households experiencing monthly income fluctuations: 31%

Households that could not cover living expenses for one month or less if their main income is lost: 58%

Employed workers saving in an employer-sponsored or outside retirement plan: 83%

Median age at which people begin saving for retirement: 26

Percentage who have tapped into retirement accounts via loans or early withdrawals: 37%

Key Metrics for Retirees

Current average retirement age in the U.S.: 64

Expected retirement age for today’s workers: 66

Full Social Security retirement age for those born in 1960 or later: 67

Percentage who plan to live to age 100 or beyond: 20%

Percentage expecting to retire at age 70 or not retire at all: 55%

Percentage planning to continue working at least part time in retirement: 56%

Percentage of retirees (3–14 years into retirement) who cite working as a favorite activity: 10%

U.S. Debt-to-GDP Ratio

Federal debt held by the public reached about 120.9% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025

Projected full-year 2025 figures show:

Debt held by the public: $37.23 trillion

Nominal GDP: $30.33 trillion

Debt-to-GDP ratio: 122.75%

Total federal outlays in 2025: $7.0 trillion (23.3 percent of GDP)

Net interest payments on the federal debt (2025): Approximately $1.0 trillion, or 3.2 percent of GDP

Estimated Adults with Over $20,000 in Credit Card or Student Loan Debt

Approximately 26.5 million U.S. adults, which is about 10.3 percent of the adult population, carry more than $20,000 in credit card debt or student loan debt (or both).

Credit card debt > $20,000: Estimated 10.5 million adults (Roughly 4.1 percent of all U.S. adults)

Student loan debt > $20,000: Estimated 18 million adults (Roughly 6.9 percent of all U.S. adults)

Overlap (both debts > $20,000): Estimated 2 million adults (Roughly 0.8 percent of all U.S. adults)

U.S. adult population (18+) approximately 258 million.

About 60 percent of adults carry any credit card balance; roughly 7 percent of cardholders owe over $20,000.

Roughly 45–50 million Americans hold federal student loans; data suggest around 40 percent of those borrowers owe more than $20,000.

Current Interest Rates on Credit Cards and Auto Loans

Credit Card Interest Rates

Average APR: 23.99% - Median advertised APR across over 300 credit-card offers as of August 2025

Highest APR: up to or exceeding 30% - Cards marketed to borrowers with poor or no credit often carry APRs at or above 30%

Auto Loan Interest Rates

Average APR

New car loans: 7.30%

Used car loans: 10.90% - Experian data for Q1 2025 (reported June 2025)

Highest APR (lowest credit tiers)

New vehicles: 15.81% APR (credit scores 300–500)

Used vehicles: 21.58% APR (credit scores 300–500) Based on Experian’s Q1 2025 data

Sources:

Investopedia | Forbes | Wall Street Journal

Inflation

Prices double when cumulative inflation reaches 100 percent. Using the Rule of 70 (doubling time ≈ 70 / inflation rate):