Credit debt counseling hits 13-year excessive as dwelling prices chunk
A nonprofit’s newest knowledge exhibits Americans are leaning tougher on credit score and Gen Z purchasers are searching for assist at a report tempo.
Americans are borrowing extra, paying much less off, and more and more exhibiting up on the door of nonprofit credit score counselors for assist.
Money Management International (MMI), a Stafford, Texas-based nonprofit credit score counseling company, says that it’s now managing greater than $1 billion in consumer debt by way of September 2026 – the best quantity since 2013.
Enrollment in its debt administration plans surpassed 2,500 new plans in September alone, essentially the most in a single month since March 2011, whereas whole energetic compensation plans exceeded 60,000 – a degree not seen since 2017.
The knowledge, drawn from aggregated MMI consumer data for the primary 9 months of 2026, doesn’t mirror the broader inhabitants however indicators the place monetary stress is accumulating and, crucially, who’s feeling it most.
“The story behind the numbers is all in regards to the rising value of dwelling,” stated Ted Rossman, Principal Consumer Finance Analyst at MMI. “On common, the value of all the things we purchase has risen 30% for the reason that pandemic. All too typically, wage progress hasn’t stored tempo. As a outcome, hundreds of thousands of Americans are counting on credit score to make ends meet.”
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What the numbers imply for advisors
Average unsecured debt amongst MMI purchasers reached $40,200 year-to-date by way of September 2026, a 4.8 p.c enhance from $38,300 over the identical interval in 2025. Counseling quantity rose 9.5 p.c year-over-year.
Delinquency can be worsening. According to MMI’s knowledge, 25 p.c of purchasers carried a minimum of one charged-off unsecured debt in 2026, up from 20 p.c in 2020. The common assortment steadiness climbed 38 p.c over that very same six-year interval, to $11,200.
For advisors working with middle-income purchasers, these figures monitor with a broader sample that InvestmentNews has been following: younger clients carrying unsecured debt are reshaping advisor practice management conversations, significantly as buy-now-pay-later credit score and private loans turn into a normal a part of family money move.
Personal mortgage publicity amongst MMI’s new purchasers climbed to 46 p.c in 2026, up from 42 p.c in 2025 and 13 factors above the 35 p.c recorded in 2020. The common private mortgage steadiness amongst these purchasers rose 11.5 p.c year-over-year to $19,300.
“Many purchasers have used private loans for debt consolidation, however paying off debt with extra debt is dangerous,” Rossman stated. “You can find yourself with extra debt than earlier than if you happen to accumulate new bank card debt earlier than the outdated debt, now within the type of a private mortgage, is paid off.”
Gen Z is the fastest-growing consumer group
The generational shift in MMI’s knowledge carries specific weight for wealth management professionals attempting to construct relationships with youthful purchasers.
Gen Z now represents the company’s fastest-growing consumer phase, up 31 p.c year-over-year. Their common unsecured debt of $20,200 is the bottom of any era in MMI’s consumer base, however it’s rising – up 10.5 p.c from 2025.
Those purchasers are additionally discovering their technique to credit score counselors by way of a brand new channel. The share of MMI purchasers who arrived through AI-generated search – primarily ChatGPT – rose 48.8 p.c year-over-year. As InvestmentNews has reported, the growing use of AI tools for personal financial guidance is prompting advisors to consider how they position themselves relative to automated options.
Geography and alternative
State-level knowledge from MMI factors to pockets of accelerating stress.
Among the ten highest-volume states, consumer progress by way of September 2026 was quickest in Pennsylvania, up 24 p.c; Georgia, up 17 p.c; and Texas, up 15 p.c. Average unsecured debt in Virginia reached roughly $45,900, a 15 p.c year-over-year enhance, whereas North Carolina averaged $41,600, up 10 p.c.
Americans are becoming more reliant on credit score and the advisors finest positioned to seize the following era of purchasers could also be these prepared to interact with debt, not simply wealth.
