New Analysis Estimates Americans Will Repay About $1.8 Million in Lifetime Debt

Overview

• The study projects an average of $1,786,810 in repayments from ages 18 to 78, counting principal and interest on mortgages, auto loans, federal undergraduate loans, and credit card balances but not credit card interest.
• Housing accounts for an estimated $1,117,860, or 62.6% of the total, under assumptions that include a first home at age 38 with a 30-year mortgage and a second home at 61 with a 15-year loan.
• State disparities are wide, with Hawaii modeled at $2,570,976 versus $1,391,240 in West Virginia, largely reflecting differences in home prices.
• Other lifetime categories include roughly $245,297 for vehicles, $387,985 in credit card balances, and $35,668 in student loans.
• JG Wentworth built the model using data from Experian, LendingTree, iSeeCars, and the Education Data Initiative collected June through August 2025, and it excludes renters, cash buyers, medical debt, and other scenarios so individual outcomes will vary.