Average auto loan debt grew 2.1% to $24,297 in 2024
Chris Horymski for Experian
7 min read
Couple looking into purchasing a car in a dealer.
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
Couple looking into purchasing a car in a dealer. - Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
Average auto loan debt grew 2.1% to $24,297 in 2024
Just when activity began to normalize on the nation's car dealer lots, tariff uncertainty threatens to increase auto prices for Americans in 2025. But for now, we're taking a look at 2024 data, which shows car loan balances increased moderately last year.
The average auto loan balance held by consumers in the United States increased 2.1% to $24,297 as of the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, according to Experian data. This increase broadly impacted all U.S. regions and consumers of all ages and incomes intending to finance new and used vehicles. The average balance grew less than it did in 2023.
As part of its continuing coverage of consumer credit and debt, Experian looked at anonymized credit data to observe recent trends in auto financing and analyze how those trends may continue to affect car buyers in 2025.
Table showing total auto loan debt. - Experian
Total Auto Debt Climbs by 1.5% to $1.53 Trillion
U.S. drivers owed $1.53 trillion on cars, motorcycles and other personal vehicles as of Q3 2024, according to Experian data, an increase of around $20 billion, or 1.5%, over the Q3 2023 balance.
Normalization of supply chain disruptions, which started in 2020 but never really got ironed out until last year, explain part of the moderation in balances. This leveling resulted in growth that fell short of the overall rate of inflation over the same period—a reversal of a multi-year trend. More vehicles on dealership lots gave would-be buyers more latitude to negotiate on price, and generally made the market less urgent than when consumers were shopping for wheels a few years ago.
Table showing average auto loan balance. - Experian
Average Auto Balances up Marginally in 2024
Average car loan balances ended Q3 2024 at $24,297, far less than the 5.2% jump during the 12-month period ending with Q3 2023.
Still, financing rates are higher, which continues to put upward pressure on auto loan debt. While sticker prices for cars have leveled off—even electric vehicles are falling in price—the average loan interest rates for new and used vehicles were markedly higher in 2024 compared with what consumers were paying as recently as 2022.
Table showing auto delinquency rates. - Experian
Rate of Auto Delinquencies Levels Off in 2024
Auto delinquency rates saw a slight increase in 2024, rising to a total 3.68% of all auto loans being at least 30 days late.
The percentage of borrowers 30 to 59 days late on their auto payments rose to 2.30% as of September 2024, reflecting a 0.12 percentage point increase from 2023. Like auto balances and total auto debt, the increases were modest.
Table showing average auto loan balance by FICO score range. - Experian
Auto Loan Balances Rise Across All Credit Score Ranges
Average balances increased for all auto loan borrowers in 2024. Those with exceptional FICO® Scores (800 to 850) saw the largest average balance increase, 3.4%. Borrowers with poor credit scores (300 to 579) saw a 2.9% increase in their average balance.
However, the vast majority of consumers—around 65%—have a credit score somewhere in the range from fair to very good, and their auto balances increased more modestly. The lower increases for consumers with fair and good FICO® Scores may be signaling that they have hit a ceiling as to how much they can finance. Better credit scores allow some auto loan borrowers—the "well-qualified buyers" you hear about on television ads—to afford more expensive vehicles precisely because they receive more favorable finance terms.
Graph showing amounts of average auto loan payments. - Experian
Average Auto Loan Payments Approaching $700 per Month
Average auto loan payments increased another 5.1% to $662 per month, according to Experian data, as rising payments wind their way through car loans with higher average APRs than in prior years. Nonetheless, it marks the slowest annual increase since 2021.
Table showing average auto balance by state. - Experian
Auto Balances Increase Modestly in Most States
Auto balances still increased in every state and Washington, D.C., in 2024. Maine, New Jersey and New York state led the nation in average balance increases, each seeing a 3.5% or higher increase in 2024.
In a continuing trend, Texas leads the pack when it comes to auto loans. At $29,760, no other state sported a larger average auto balance in 2024—although nipping at its spurs is nearby New Mexico, which saw its average loan balance increase to $29,098.
Table showing average loan debt by generation. - Experian
Generation X Pulling Away From the Pack in Average Auto Loan Balance
Gen X is still the generation carrying the largest auto debt on average, according to Experian data. However, its average balance increased by only 1.9%, slightly less than the national 2.1% increase.
Baby boomers and millennials had larger-than-average percentage increases. Finally, as less than 2% of all the auto notes belong to the Silent Generation, we may consider its 4.3% increase a bit of an anomaly.
More Auto Sticker Shock Coming in 2025?
Remember the supply chain shortage a few years ago? That was a major factor in the sudden increase in auto prices in 2021 and 2022, and it may be coming back for drivers shopping for cars and trucks in 2025. Here's why:
Tariffs
Steel and aluminum comprise up to 60% of a vehicle's mass, according to trade group American Iron and Steel Institute, and that's going to cost more thanks to a new 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. The current administration has also gone back and forth on implementing broader tariffs on all imports from many countries.
Not only will the cost obviously rise—tariffs ultimately get passed on to the consumer, typically—but the scramble for currently levied metal could disrupt the already fragile auto supply chain.
Insurance Costs
Those disruptions may also have secondary effects, like reigniting auto insurance premium increases, which are already growing at a rate that outpaces overall inflation. Shortages of supplies mean higher costs for insurers responding to claims. Insurers are still smarting from the losses they ate in 2021, when they paid out more in auto claims than they took in in premiums.
Inflation
On top of other factors, there's regular old consumer price inflation. Prices on an annual basis were up 2.4% in March 2025 following a brief jump that reached as high as 3% in January.
So while estimates for new and used car prices later in 2025 may be near impossible to determine until new tariffs are finalized, chances are that prices will more likely increase than decrease.
Improved Credit Scores Can Offer Some Relief
Nonetheless, auto credit remains available. More consumers have good credit scores than in years past, which would mitigate some of the sting of higher new and used car prices anticipated this year. Whether consumers decide to trade in their current car for a new financed vehicle or squeeze a few more miles out of it will depend upon just how uncertain the automotive market remains in 2025.
While it's become increasingly apparent that consumers have less of an ability to control or understand the whipsaw of economic changes that impact auto financing, one constant does remain: creditworthiness. For consumers who finance their transportation, better credit scores will almost always translate to lower APRs. Ultimately, a good credit score may be the best bargaining chip a car buyer will have this year.
Methodology: The analysis results provided are based on an Experian-created statistically relevant aggregate sampling of our consumer credit database that may include use of the FICO® Score 8 version. Different sampling parameters may generate different findings compared with other similar analysis. Analyzed credit data did not contain personal identification information. Metro areas group counties and cities into specific geographic areas for population censuses and compilations of related statistical data.
This story was produced by Experian and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
