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This increase was offset by lower credit card debt. Thirty-six percent of respondents to MoneyGeek's recent financial stress survey reported paying down their credit card balances over the previous six months.

In total, Americans paid down $110 billion in credit card debt since the first quarter of 2020, an average of $2,049 per household.

Mortgages fuel total debt. The average American holds $53,897 in personal debt, much of it tied up in mortgages. If mortgages are excluded, the average debt would drop to $16,720.

Student loans and car loans make up the bulk of the non-mortgage personal debt, and the average person has more than $5,000 of debt in each category.

Since the start of the pandemic, mortgages have increased by more than 6 percent, car loans by 4 percent and student loan debt by 1 percent. Meanwhile, credit card and home equity revolving credit dropped by double-digit percentages.

Average household debt increased. The average household debt increased by 3.3 percent since the start of the pandemic to $155,038.

More than three-fourths of all American households hold some form of debt. Credit cards are the most common type of debt, followed by mortgages and car loans.

Nearly half of households have credit card debt, 40 percent have mortgage debt and 37 percent have car loans. Thirty-five percent of people reported being stressed by credit card debt.

Car and student loan debt have doubled. Student loans – the subject of hot political debate and a source of financial strain for millions of Americans — and car loans have doubled since 2020.By 2020, total student loan debt reached more than $58,000 per household, and the average American household had more than $30,000 in car loans.

Cumulatively, more than $1.5 trillion is owed on student loans and another $1.4 trillion on car loans.Younger generations may bear the brunt of the student loan debt, and for many, it is a significant source of stress. Gen Z and millennials were most like to report student loans as the aspect of their finances that caused them the most stress.

The top 1 percent and bottom 50 percent hold the most debt. The average debt among the bottom 50 percent of households has doubled since 2003, growing more rapidly than other groups.

Excluding mortgages, the top 1 percent average just over $500,000 in debt, while the bottom 50 percent owes nearly $37,000. Households in the top 10 percent but below the top 1 percent had the lowest level of debt at just over $23,000

"As we continue emerging from the pandemic, consumers should work to continue borrowing responsibly, as spending may tick up," financial advisor Lisa Fischer said.

"There's nothing wrong with spending on credit, but work to do so in a way that will maintain and improve your credit health. As we emerge from the pandemic and spending habits change or normalize, it can also be a good opportunity for consumers to evaluate finances and spending across the board."

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