A new analysis shows that credit card debt in Ohio and elsewhere continues to grow — another indicator that average people’s financial security continues to diminish as affordability and income inequality become increasingly potent issues.

A WalletHub analysis published earlier this month found that in nominal terms, Americans had the greatest credit card debt in history during the third quarter of 2025 — $1.35 trillion.

When adjusted for inflation, it was exceeded in the third quarter of 2008 — as the Great Recession hit — when it was 8% greater.

In addition, the report said, credit card finance charges increased 36% from a pre-pandemic high in the fourth quarter of 2019 to $180 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

The findings were based on data from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The news comes after a November analysis found that Ohioans’ credit-card delinquencies were rising at the fifth-highest rate in the United States.

With 20% of credit cards delinquent in the second quarter of 2025, Ohio saw an increase of 29% over a year earlier.

The median credit card debt for an Ohioan is $2,476.

The growth in credit-card debt and delinquencies indicates that for many consumers, the U.S. economy is not in a good place.

“The fact that the record amount of credit card debt we currently owe isn’t really an inflation-adjusted record probably won’t do much to make consumers feel better, John Kiernan of WalletHub said in a written statement.

“We still have a ton of debt, and it remains extremely expensive — as do prices in general — with no savings in sight.”

Urging people with debt to budget carefully, he added, ​​”Nearly two in five people are already resigned to having even more credit card debt by the end of 2026…, and 42% of people expect to have credit card debt for their entire life.”

As the 2026 election year takes shape, issues such as affordability and inequality are likely to play a major role.

A New York Times-Siena University poll published on Thursday said that 64% of respondents disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy.

That was the second-highest level of disapproval he received on any issue.

Sixty-eight percent disapproved of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files.

A Gallup poll conducted at the end of December found that Americans’ economic confidence had slipped to lows not seen since the depths of the pandemic.

Two-thirds of Gallup respondents picked issues such as inflation, the cost of housing, low wages, health care costs, and debt as their most pressing issues.

Health care is a leading cause of economic anxiety.

The December KFF Health Tracking Poll found that just under half of Americans have difficulty affording care, and that 36% reported putting off care in the prior year due to worries about affordability.

And as credit-card debt grows, large majorities of Americans are saying income inequality is a problem. 

A YouGov poll published earlier this month found that 80% of respondents believed the gap between the rich and poor was a very big or somewhat big problem.

That includes 60% of self-identified MAGA Republicans and 57% of those who identify as very conservative.

This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal. View the original article.