How Much Money The Average Baby Boomer Owes In Debt

Experian reports the total amount of consumer debt owed by U.S. adults in 2025 is $18.33 trillion, a 3.2% increase from the previous year. The largest proportion of this debt currently belongs to Gen X, with folks aged 45 to 60 owing an average of $158,105. Millennials are behind them, at $132,280, while baby boomers come in significantly below those figures at $92,619. Given the older Silent Generation owes $38,460 on average, while Gen Z carries the lowest average debt at $34,328, boomers fall right in the center of the generational debt distribution.

Pragmatic Coders reports the standard debt profiles for boomers include a mortgage, ongoing credit card debt, and often auto loans, personal loans, medical debt, or Parent PLUS student loans taken out to fund a child's education. Using 2024 data from Yahoo Finance and MX Technologies, the study found boomers who still have a mortgage carry an average balance of around $188,000. Considering Experian finds that the average boomer carries less than half that amount in debt in general, this statistic highlights the surprising number of Americans without a mortgage and how skewed the generation's financial situation is on an individual level. This distribution is only confirmed by the fact that more than half of the roughly 40% of homeowners who don't have a mortgage are 65 or older, according to ResiClub's analysis of U.S. Census data (via Fast Company). Meanwhile, Pragmatic Coders also reports the average boomer owes around $22,500 in auto debt, and that 81% have active credit cards.

Given the vastly different historical contexts each surviving generation witnessed as they grew up, it's no surprise that each age group developed different financial habits. For example, the Silent Generation either grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s or were raised by parents who endured it. This experience may be reflected in more conservative financial attitudes and actions. Meanwhile, growing up in the post-World War II boom informed boomers' financial philosophies in a very different way. During their lifetimes, boomers could feasibly save over time to get a home and avoid taking on too staggering of a mortgage — a trap that has only gotten deeper for younger generations.

None of this is to say boomers have it all together financially, just look at the surprising amount the average baby boomer has in retirement savings. Notably, Pragmatic Coders also reported that many boomers don't pay off their credit card balances at the end of each month, and 22% of people in the generation listed paying off their credit card debt as their top financial priority in 2024. Fortunately, plenty of genius ways to pay off credit card debt are available to aid people of any age with this goal.