Americans are carrying a record $19.1 trillion in household debt

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicates that Americans are carrying a record amount of household debt. The report shows household debt grew by $334 billion last quarter, pushing the total to $19.1 trillion. RELATED STORY | 37 percent of Americans say they've gone to sleep hungry because of money issues Around 5% of all outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. “Household debt levels rose moderately, led by increases in mortgage and home equity line of credit originations**,”** said Donghoon Lee, Economic Research Advisor at the New York Fed. “Although delinquency transition rates for housing debts have crept up, the overall credit quality of these loans remains strong.” RELATED STORY | With Americans carrying nearly $19 trillion in debt, an expert shares tips for digging out of debt Student loan balances also increased by $5 billion, reaching around $1.66 trillion. Mortgages make up the biggest share of what Americans owe, while credit card balances account for about 7% of the total. While the share of debt in delinquency increased, the New York Fed says overall housing credit quality remains strong.