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The average credit card debt for Millennials, who are primarily in their 30s, is almost $7,000 as of 2025, according to Experian®. That, however, only tells part of the story about what America owes on their plastic.

Credit card debt in America is a significant issue, with combined balances topping $1.21 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. You probably are aware that credit card debt is high-interest debt and can be hard to pay off.

If you are wondering how your balance compares to those of other people your age, to see how you stack up, read on for a decade-by-decade review of what Americans owe.

Credit Card Debt for Millennials

Welcome to your 30s, which can be a time that many people are establishing their adult lives. What does that mean? Possibly home ownership (or outfitting your rental home), having a family and paying for the kids’ expenses, traveling, dinners out with friends, and maybe new clothes because, congrats, you snagged a new job.

Some of these changes will impact your overall debt by age, but consider just your debt related to using your plastic. Your evolving lifestyle can cost you.

The average credit card debt for Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) is currently $6,961, significantly more than the $3,493 owed by Gen Z, those who were born between 1997 and 2012. You should consider not only how this figure can impact your overall financial life, but also how it can affect your credit rating. You’ll want to take note of your credit utilization ratio, or how much of your credit limit your balance represents, as you work to keep your profile in good shape. Financial experts suggest this number stay at or below 30%.

Credit Card Debt for Gen X

Gen X, or those Americans born between 1965 and 1980, have on average, $9,600 in credit card debt, which is the highest for the age groups reviewed here. Many Generation X-ers have bought houses, cars, and started families. They are increasingly consuming and, as life gets busier, growing financial demands can encourage the growth of credit card debt.

As consumers are more and more stabilized in their lifestyle and careers, they tend to grow more comfortable spending money they can’t immediately repay. Additionally, at this age, people may be focused on financing children’s education, which can make paying off their credit card balances a lesser priority.

What’s more, saving for retirement is likely to be a primary focus at this age. For those trying to fatten up their nest egg, paying off credit card debt may move to the back burner.

Credit Card Debt for Baby Boomers

This age group owes an average of $6,795 in credit card debt, a bit less than Millennials. Many people in this age range are over the crest of their expenses as a parent or as a homeowner.

However, as time passes, medical expenses can grow, and those can be put on their credit card and grow their debt.

Recommended: Tips for Using a Credit Card Responsibly

Ways to Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt

As you plan to pay off your credit cards, it’s important not to underestimate the challenges of your mid-to-late 30s. With growing responsibilities and increasingly complicated finances, it can be easy to fall into debt.

It’s important to organize your budget in a way that allows you to make monthly payments to reduce and eventually eliminate debt while still accumulating savings.

Also, knowing when credit card payments are due and paying them promptly is an important facet of maintaining your financial wellness.

•   One strategy that may be worth trying is the debt snowball method, where you prioritize repayment on your debts from the debt with the smallest amount to the debt with the largest amount, regardless of their interest rates. (While still making minimum payments on all other debts, of course.)

When you pay off the debt with the smallest amount, focus the money you were spending on those payments into the debt with the next lowest balance. This method builds in small rewards, helping to give you momentum to continue making payments. This method is all about giving yourself a mental boost in order to pay off your debt faster.

The idea is that the feeling of knocking out a debt balance — however small — will propel you toward paying down the next smallest balance. The con, however, is that you could end up paying more interest with the snowball method, because you’re tackling your smallest loan balance as opposed to your highest interest debt.

•   The other popular payoff method, the debt avalanche method, encourages the borrower to pay off the loan with their highest interest rate first. While you don’t get that psychological boost that comes with knocking out small debts quickly, paying off your highest interest loans first is the more cost-effective solution of the two.

•   Another option to consider is to apply for a personal loan. Personal loans are loans that can be used for almost any purpose, whether that’s home improvement, covering unexpected medical expenses, or paying off credit card debt.

Personal loans can be a way to get ahead of debt, since interest rates are typically competitive, especially when compared to high-interest credit cards. A personal loan allows you to consolidate debt — simplifying multiple monthly payments with different credit card companies into one monthly payment.

•   Another strategy to pay off credit card debt is, of course, to cut down on expenses and tighten your budget. When it comes to paying off debt, organization is key.

Pick one of the different budgeting methods that suits you best. Make sure you are tracking both your income and your expenses. Take a look at your monthly purchases and try categorizing them into different areas. With some strategic planning, small changes can add up to make a big difference.

The Takeaway

Credit card debt is a serious financial issue for many Americans, and Millennials, who are primarily in their 30s, tend to carry the highest amount of this kind of debt. Ways to deal with this kind of debt include budgeting wisely, trying debt payoff methods, and debt consolidation loans. If you decide that a debt consolidation personal loan is your best option, shop around, and see what kinds of offers you qualify for from different lenders.

Think twice before turning to high-interest credit cards. Consider a SoFi personal loan instead. SoFi offers competitive fixed rates and same-day funding. See your rate in minutes.

FAQ

How much credit card debt do most people in their 30s carry?

According to data from Experian, Millennials, who are primarily in their 30s, carry almost $7,000 in credit card debt per person.

Which generation has the most credit card debt per person?

Members of Gen X, with an average of $9,600 in credit card debt per person, has the highest level of credit card debt.

What are ways to get out of credit card debt?

Options to pay off credit card debt include trying different budgeting methods and apps to curtail spending; utilizing such techniques as the snowball or avalanche approaches to paying down debt, and taking out a personal loan for debt consolidation.

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SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

SOPL-Q425-016

Graduating from college is exciting. But for borrowers, graduation also triggers new financial obligations, including paying off student loans.

With the average student loan debt at $39,075, it’s no wonder many people have trouble staying on top of their student loans.

There are currently a number of repayment options for those with federal student loans, including the Standard Repayment Plan, which gives borrowers up to 10 years to pay off their student debt, and the Extended Repayment Plan, which lengthens the repayment term for eligible borrowers up to 25 years.

The Extended Repayment Plan, which is available to borrowers with loans taken out before July 1, 2026, reduces the dollar amount of monthly payments by spreading the cost out over a much longer time period.

For some individuals, these longer-term loans might be a helpful way to balance their loan payments and their other expenses. However, borrowers on the plan will pay substantially more in interest over the life of the loan.

How Does the Extended Repayment Plan Work?

Under the Extended Repayment Plan, eligible borrowers can spread out the repayment of their federal student loans over a 25-year period, compared to the Standard Repayment Plan’s 10 years.

Because student loans are subject to interest, the borrower will also pay more interest on their loan over a longer period of time. So the monthly payments may be lower, but the borrower will end up paying more over the full term of the student loan.

To see what this looks like in action, compare the costs of two repayment plans for paying back a hypothetical, but typical, federal student loan after receiving a four-year degree from a for-profit private college.

Let’s say you borrowed $34,722 four years ago at an average interest rate of 3.9%.

•   Under the Standard Repayment Plan, monthly payments would total $350 over a 10-year term, for a total cost of $41,988.

•   Under the Extended Repayment Plan, the borrower would only have to repay $181 a month — but over a 25-year term, the total cost would be $54,409.

On the Extended Plan, borrowers can opt to repay their loans with a fixed or graduated amount. If they choose the graduated option, monthly payments start low after the borrower leaves school but then gradually increase every two years over the lifetime of the loan.

Using the above loan example, graduated payments under the Extended Repayment Plan would start at $143 a month in the first two years after graduation and slowly increase to $251 by the end of the loan term. The total amount paid back would add up to $57,026.

Eligibility for Extended Repayment Plans

If the reduced monthly cost of an Extended Repayment Plan sounds appealing, the first step is to assess eligibility. Not all student loans or borrowers qualify for the program.

It’s important to be aware that as a result of the big U.S. domestic policy bill passed in the summer of 2025, the Extended Repayment Plan will be closed to new federal loans made on or after July 1, 2026. Borrowers who take out loans before that time are eligible for the plan as long as they meet the criteria below.

The federal student loans eligible for the Extended Repayment Plan are:

•   Direct Subsidized Loans

•   Direct Unsubsidized Loans

•   Direct PLUS Loans

•   Direct Consolidation Loans

•   Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans

•   Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans

•   FFEL PLUS Loans

•   FFEL Consolidation Loans

Qualifying loans must have been obtained after October 7, 1998, and the outstanding loan balance must be more than $30,000 in either Direct Loans or FFEL program loans to be eligible.

Eligibility can’t be pooled across loan types, so if, for example, a student has $35,000 in Direct Loans and an additional $10,000 in FFEL program loans, the Direct Loan portion would qualify for the Extended Repayment Plan but the FFEL loan would not.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Extended Repayments

The Extended Repayment Plan might be appealing to some federal student loan borrowers. After all, who wouldn’t want a lower payment each month?

But it’s not actually that simple. There are benefits and drawbacks to longer student loan repayment terms.

Pros of the Extended Repayment Plan

One benefit of the Extended Repayment Plan is an obvious one — lower monthly payments.

Typical monthly student loan payments, which are generally between $200 and $300 on average, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve, can eat up a significant amount of take-home pay for lower earners. The smaller monthly loan payments associated with the Extended Repayment Plan might free up vital funds for other essential expenditures.

This benefit may be even more pronounced for borrowers who choose the graduated monthly payment option on the Extended Repayment Plan. This means borrowers pay the least in the first years after graduating, corresponding with lower entry-level salaries, and more later on when they may be better able to afford it.

Cons of the Extended Repayment Plan

Although monthly payments may be lower, there are some cons to the Extended Repayment Plan.

For starters, the loan term can be more than twice as long as the Standard Repayment Plan, meaning borrowers have to keep making monthly payments for 15 years longer.

Not only does the Extended Repayment Plan mean more years of making student loan payments, those payments will also add up to more money paid over the lifetime of the loan term.

For example, based on the example described above, for a $34,722 student loan at 3.9% annual interest, the borrower would pay an additional $12,421 over the lifetime of the student loan under the 25-year Extended Repayment Plan than they would on the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.

The option for graduated monthly payments costs even more over the life of the loan. Deferring the bulk of repayment to later in the loan term in order to allow for lower payments earlier on means borrowers carry a higher level of educational debt for a longer period of time.

Alternatives to Extended Repayment Plans

While the monthly savings may make the Extended Repayment Plan sound appealing, for some borrowers the added total cost may outweigh this benefit. But there are alternatives that can help meet various financial needs.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans

Monthly payments for income-driven repayment plans are based on a percentage of the federal student loan borrower’s discretionary income, and the amount increases or decreases as their income and family size changes during the lifetime of the student loan. This helps to ensure that payments remain affordable, even as the borrower’s income changes.

There are now three income-driven repayment plans borrowers can enroll in — Income- Contingent Repayment (ICR), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and Pay As You Earn (PAYE). Current borrowers who plan to apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) can consider the IBR plan, which may allow them to have the outstanding balance of their loan canceled after 20 years.

However, for borrowers taking out their first loans on or after July 1, 2026, there will be only one income-driven repayment plan available — the Repayment Assistance Program (RAP). On RAP, payments range from 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income for up to 30 years. At that point, any remaining debt will be forgiven. If a borrower’s monthly payment doesn’t cover the interest owed, the interest will be cancelled.

Student Loan Refinancing

Some borrowers may choose to refinance student loans with a new loan from a private lender. Eligible student loan borrowers may qualify for lower interest rates or more favorable terms.

One benefit of student loan refinancing is that it could reduce monthly payments for some borrowers, especially those that qualify for a lower interest rate. If you choose a longer loan term, you could also lower your monthly payments. However, you may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.

Just be aware that refinancing federal student loans means forfeiting benefits and protections that come with those loans — like income-driven repayment and federal forgiveness.

The Takeaway

With the Extended Repayment Plan, eligible borrowers can repay their loans over a period of 25 years, which reduces the amount of their monthly payments. However, because of the long repayment term, they will pay significantly more interest over the life of the loan. Other options borrowers may want to consider include student loan refinancing and income driven repayment plans.

Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.

FAQ

How does the Extended Repayment Plan work?

On the Extended Repayment Plan, eligible borrowers can reduce their federal student loan payments by spreading out the repayment over a period of 25 years. However, the longer loan term increases the amount of interest paid over the life of the loan.

What are the cons of the Extended Repayment Plan?

Drawbacks of the Extended Repayment Plan include a loan term that’s more than twice as long as the term of the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, and also because of the long term, borrowers pay substantially more in interest over the life of the loan.

Is the Extended Repayment Plan going away?

While the Extended Repayment Plan will remain open for loans currently in the plan, it will be closed to new federal loans made on or after July 1, 2026, as a result of the big U.S. domestic policy bill that was passed in the summer of 2025.

SoFi Student Loan Refinance
Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.