Highlights. Americans carried 1.17 billion credit cards in 2023; projections indicate that credit cards will number 1.26 billion in 2026.
- 214.9 million or 82% of U.S. adults have a credit card account in their name.
- The average U.S. credit cardholder carries 3 cards and makes up to 251 credit card purchases per year.
- Over 75% of U.S. households have at least one general-use credit card.
Credit Card Account Statistics
There are enough active credit and debit cards in the world for every living adult to have at least one.
- 26.3% of consumer credit card accounts are less than 24 months old.
- 37.9% of new credit card accounts were opened by consumers with subprime (below 660) credit scores.
- 32.8% of new cards were opened by consumers with prime (660-719) credit scores, while 29.3% of new cards belong to superprime (720+) consumers.
- The number of active credit card accounts increased 31.4% from 2003 to 2023.
- Cardholders with superprime credit have an average limit of $12,046; they charge an average of $803 per month to their credit cards.
- The average prime card has a limit of $7,392, and prime cardholders charge an average of $563 per month.
- Subprime cards have an average limit of $3,190, and subprime cardholders charge $240 per month.
- The average U.S. cardholder carried 4 cards in 2019.
Credit Card Processor Statistics
Four major credit card processors facilitate most consumer credit transactions in the United States with cards from hundreds of different issuers.
- The most widely used credit card network is Visa, with 4.48 billion cards active worldwide.
- The second-most widely used credit card network worldwide is Mastercard Inc., with 2.944 billion consumer and commercial cards active at the end of 2023.
- Discover has 305 million active credit cards in its network, including 72 million Discover cards.
- American Express has issued 80.2 million proprietary cards active worldwide.
- 61.0 million or 43.2% of active American Express cards were issued by third-party institutions.
State-Level Credit Card Ownership Statistics
While the most populated states have a higher average number of credit cards, there is little correlation between population size and average number of cards overall.
- New Jersey cardholders carry 4.5 cards, the highest number of cards on average.
- Cardholders in Alaska carry the fewest cards on average (3.2).
- California is home to the highest estimated number of active credit card accounts (100.1 million).
- Wyoming is the state with the fewest active credit card accounts with an estimated 1.23 million.
| State | Average Cards per Cardholder | Estimated Total Credit Cards (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3.5 | 11.4 |
| Alaska | 3.2 | 1.46 |
| Arizona | 3.9 | 18.7 |
| Arkansas | 3.5 | 6.78 |
| California | 4.0 | 100.1 |
| Colorado | 3.7 | 14.1 |
| Connecticut | 4.2 | 10.0 |
| Delaware | 4.2 | 2.82 |
| District of Columbia | 3.4 | 1.54 |
| Florida | 4.3 | 64.3 |
| Georgia | 3.9 | 27.2 |
| Hawaii | 3.6 | 3.37 |
| Idaho | 3.6 | 4.42 |
| Illinois | 4.1 | 33.1 |
| Indiana | 3.7 | 16.0 |
| Iowa | 3.5 | 7.11 |
| Kansas | 3.6 | 6.63 |
| Kentucky | 3.6 | 10.4 |
| Louisiana | 3.5 | 10.1 |
| Maine | 3.5 | 3.29 |
| Maryland | 3.9 | 15.4 |
| Massachusetts | 3.9 | 18.1 |
| Michigan | 3.8 | 24.7 |
| Minnesota | 3.6 | 13.1 |
| Mississippi | 3.4 | 6.30 |
| Missouri | 3.8 | 15.0 |
| Montana | 3.4 | 2.50 |
| Nebraska | 3.7 | 4.54 |
| Nevada | 4.1 | 8.43 |
| New Hampshire | 3.9 | 3.68 |
| New Jersey | 4.5 | 26.9 |
| New Mexico | 3.5 | 4.77 |
| New York | 4.1 | 52.5 |
| North Carolina | 3.8 | 26.5 |
| North Dakota | 3.6 | 1.77 |
| Ohio | 4.0 | 30.2 |
| Oklahoma | 3.5 | 8.86 |
| Oregon | 3.5 | 9.76 |
| Pennsylvania | 4.0 | 33.9 |
| Rhode Island | 4.2 | 3.07 |
| South Carolina | 3.8 | 13.2 |
| South Dakota | 3.3 | 1.89 |
| Tennessee | 3.6 | 16.4 |
| Texas | 4.0 | 75.3 |
| Utah | 3.5 | 7.13 |
| Vermont | 3.3 | 1.44 |
| Virginia | 3.9 | 21.9 |
| Washington | 3.6 | 18.2 |
| West Virginia | 3.7 | 4.30 |
| Wisconsin | 3.7 | 14.1 |
| Wyoming | 3.3 | 1.23 |
Global Credit Card Usage Statistics
24.5% of global consumers own at least one credit card.
- Canada has the world’s highest credit card ownership rate, with 82.7% of individuals owning at least one credit card.
- 54.3% of consumers in Australia and New Zealand have at least one credit card, the highest rate of any region outside North America.
- 37.7% of European consumers have a credit card; Iceland has the highest ownership rate in Europe at 74.0%.
- 17.8% of consumers in the Middle East have a credit card; Israel has the highest ownership rate at 79.1%.
- 16.8% of consumers in Asia have a credit card; Hong Kong has the highest ownership rate at 71.6%.
- 14.5% of consumers in Latin America have a credit card; Brazil has the highest ownership rate at 40.4%.
- 3.7% of African consumers have a credit card; Mauritius has the highest ownership rate at 20.1%.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data
- United States Census Bureau, Population and Housing Unit Estimates Tables
- CNBC
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Corporate Filings
- Statista, Credit Cards Worldwide – Statistics and Facts
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Credit Card Market Report
- Fed Board of Governors, Credit Card Profitability
- American Bankers Association, Credit Card Market Monitor
- Experian, Ask Experian