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Personal Loan Statistics

Personal loans can be used to cover a variety of expenses, offering a useful financial tool when used responsibly. The latest TransUnion data from the first quarter of 2024 shows that 23.5 million Americans owe a total of $245 billion in unsecured personal loans. [1] TransUnion, “Economic Pressures Continue to Drive Growth in the Credit Card and Personal Loan Sectors” https://www.transunion.com/blog/q1-2024-credit-industry-insights-report

But what exactly do people use personal loans for, and do they really make our financial situations better? A survey on behalf of Self asked over 1,000 people about their use of personal loans to find out how we use them. This article also delves into personal loan statistics across the U.S.

Key statistics

Contents

What is a personal loan?

A personal loan is a sum of money you can borrow from a bank, online lender, or credit union, and use to pay for a variety of expenses. Personal loans are a type of installment credit whereby the borrower receives the loan as a lump sum and repays the funds in regular installments over time.

You can use a personal loan for a wide range of expenses, for example, consolidating debt, home improvement projects, emergency expenses, or large purchases.

Total personal loan balances in the U.S.

Unsecured personal loan balances have also increased compared to Q1 of 2023, rising by 9% from a total of $225 billion to $245 billion. In the first quarter of 2021, the total unsecured personal loan balance in the U.S. was $144 billion, indicating a 56.3% increase between 2021 and 2024.

Q1 2024 Q1 2023 Q1 2022 Q1 2021
Total Unsecured Personal Loan Balances $245 billion $225 billion $178 billion $144 billion

Sources [1] TransUnion, “Economic Pressures Continue to Drive Growth in the Credit Card and Personal Loan Sectors” https://www.transunion.com/blog/q1-2024-credit-industry-insights-report

Personal loan debt per borrower is $11,829

When breaking down debt individually, the average borrower with a personal loan owes $11,829 as of Q4 2023. The average account balance is $8,737 likely because some borrowers will have more than one personal loan account.

Sources [1] TransUnion, “Economic Pressures Continue to Drive Growth in the Credit Card and Personal Loan Sectors” https://www.transunion.com/blog/q1-2024-credit-industry-insights-report

How many people use personal loans?

Data from TransUnion as of March 2024 shows that 23.5 million people in the U.S. currently have a personal loan, which amounts to roughly 9% of the adult population.

According to a survey on behalf of Self, 84% of survey respondents have taken out a personal loan at some point in their life. Of those who have used loans, more than half (58.5%) say they have used personal loans a few times in the past 10 years, while 4.5% say they use personal loans multiple times a year.

How often people borrow money using personal loans % of respondents
I’ve only used a personal loan once 21.3%
A few times in the last 10 years 58.5%
Once a year 15.7%
Multiple times a year 4.5%

The number of personal loan users has grown by 5% YoY

Data from TransUnion shows that the number of consumers taking out unsecured personal loans has grown by 5% compared to the first quarter of 2023, and by 24% compared to Q1 2021.

Q1 2024 Q1 2023 Q1 2022 Q1 2021
Number of Consumers with Unsecured Personal Loans 23.5 million 22.4 million 20.4 million 19.0 million

Source [1] TransUnion, “Economic Pressures Continue to Drive Growth in the Credit Card and Personal Loan Sectors” https://www.transunion.com/blog/q1-2024-credit-industry-insights-report

Personal loan users by demographic

Men in the survey take out personal loans more often than women with 89.2% of men surveyed saying they have used a personal loan at some point, compared to 72.9% of women.

People aged between 28 and 59 reported using personal loans the most with 85% of people in this age group having used them. 67.7% of younger people (aged 18-27), and 53.9% of older people (over 60) say they have taken out at least one personal loan in their life.

Respondents borrowed an average of $5,191 with their last personal loan

Of those surveyed, the most common amount people had borrowed with their most recent personal loan was $2,501 - $5,000, with 34.5% of people saying they borrowed this much. This was followed by $5,001 - $7,500 (21.7%), and $7,501 - $10,000 (15.4%). Across all respondents, the average amount borrowed with their most recent loan was $5,191.

Amount borrowed with most recent personal loan Percentage of respondents
Less than $1000 8.6%
$1,001 - $2,500 14.6%
$2,501 - $5,000 34.5%
$5,001 - $7,500 21.7%
$7,501 - $10,000 15.4%
More than $10,000 5.3%

Why do people use personal loans?

Unlike auto loans and mortgages which lend money for specific purchases, a personal loan can be used to pay for more or less any expense. It could be for a new kitchen, a wedding, an unexpected expense like a funeral, or consolidating existing debts into one repayment.

41.1% of people used a personal loan for a new car

Among survey respondents, the most common expense people use personal loans for is new cars, with 41.1% of personal loan users stating this as a reason for a loan in the past 10 years.

The next most common reason people took out a personal loan was medical bills (35.1%), followed by everyday living expenses (32.3%).

Reason for personal loan % of respondents
New car 41.1%
Medical bills 35.1%
Living expenses like groceries 32.3%
Car repairs 28.1%
To pay regular bills 26.6%
Vacation 23.7%
Home improvement 21.7%
Consolidating debt 17.9%
Wedding 15.3%
Unexpected or emergency cost 12.1%
Funeral 11.6%
Making a large purchase 10.8%
Moving house 10.4%
Business expenses 10.3%
Divorce expenses 7.3%

Data note: Respondents were able to select more than one answer.

Over three-quarters say a loan improved their situation

79.6% of survey respondents say that using a personal loan improved their financial situation, while 3.3% said it made it worse and 17.1% said it didn’t change anything.

In addition to this, 91.5% of people who have used a loan in the past said they would be happy to use one again.

Average personal loan balance by state

When breaking down average personal loan balance by state, Washington has the highest average balance as of Q3 2023 at $31,483, up 2.7% compared to Q3 of 2022. Washington DC has the lowest average personal loan balance at $13,507 (an increase of 10.3% YoY), followed by Georgia at $15,708 (up 5.9% YoY).

Wyoming is the only state that saw a drop in average personal loan balances, with a decrease of 0.4% in 2023 compared to 2022.

State 2022 2023 Change
State Alabama 2022 $15,433 2023 $16,614 Change +7.7%
State Alaska 2022 $21,366 2023 $22,171 Change +3.8%
State Arizona 2022 $23,009 2023 $24,552 Change +6.7%
State Arkansas 2022 $21,082 2023 $22,558 Change +7%
State California 2022 $18,896 2023 $20,096 Change +6.4%
State Colorado 2022 $24,538 2023 $25,547 Change +4.1%
State Connecticut 2022 $15,412 2023 $16,645 Change +8%
State Delaware 2022 $18,291 2023 $18,660 Change +2%
State Florida 2022 $20,111 2023 $21,468 Change +6.7%
State Georgia 2022 $14,838 2023 $15,708 Change +5.9%
State Hawaii 2022 $15,056 2023 $16,495 Change +9.6%
State Idaho 2022 $25,392 2023 $27,342 Change +7.7%
State Illinois 2022 $15,321 2023 $16,304 Change +6.4%
State Indiana 2022 $17,408 2023 $18,005 Change +3.4%
State Iowa 2022 $19,644 2023 $19,811 Change +0.8%
State Kansas 2022 $19,789 2023 $20,852 Change +5.4%
State Kentucky 2022 $17,299 2023 $18,380 Change +6.2%
State Louisiana 2022 $18,374 2023 $19,243 Change +4.7%
State Maine 2022 $18,468 2023 $18,603 Change +0.7%
State Maryland 2022 $16,312 2023 $17,317 Change +6.2%
State Massachusetts 2022 $15,725 2023 $16,465 Change +4.7%
State Michigan 2022 $17,027 2023 $17,636 Change +3.6%
State Minnesota 2022 $20,259 2023 $21,129 Change +4.3%
State Mississippi 2022 $16,045 2023 $17,440 Change +8.7%
State Missouri 2022 $18,142 2023 $19,619 Change +8.1%
State Montana 2022 $26,934 2023 $28,070 Change +4.2%
State Nebraska 2022 $20,111 2023 $20,417 Change +1.5%
State Nevada 2022 $21,277 2023 $22,438 Change +5.5%
State New Hampshire 2022 $18,703 2023 $19,854 Change +6.2%
State New Jersey 2022 $15,272 2023 $16,276 Change +6.6%
State New Mexico 2022 $19,776 2023 $20,807 Change +5.2%
State New York 2022 $14,890 2023 $15,925 Change +7%
State North Carolina 2022 $17,141 2023 $18,572 Change +8.3%
State North Dakota 2022 $27,856 2023 $27,989 Change +0.5%
State Ohio 2022 $16,299 2023 $16,924 Change +3.8%
State Oklahoma 2022 $18,669 2023 $19,704 Change +5.5%
State Oregon 2022 $29,247 2023 $29,736 Change +1.7%
State Pennsylvania 2022 $16,145 2023 $17,009 Change +5.3%
State Rhode Island 2022 $15,192 2023 $16,395 Change +7.9%
State South Carolina 2022 $17,253 2023 $18,581 Change +7.7%
State South Dakota 2022 $26,742 2023 $28,010 Change +4.7%
State Tennessee 2022 $17,788 2023 $19,323 Change +8.6%
State Texas 2022 $17,779 2023 $19,567 Change +10.1%
State Utah 2022 $21,086 2023 $21,565 Change +2.3%
State Vermont 2022 $18,529 2023 $19,375 Change +4.6%
State Virginia 2022 $16,765 2023 $17,576 Change +4.8%
State Washington 2022 $30,648 2023 $31,483 Change +2.7%
State Washington DC 2022 $12,250 2023 $13,507 Change +10.3%
State West Virginia 2022 $18,559 2023 $19,285 Change +3.9%
State Wisconsin 2022 $19,039 2023 $19,751 Change +3.7%
State Wyoming 2022 $27,428 2023 $27,309 Change -0.4%

Sources [2] Experian, “Average Personal Loan Balance Grows 6.3% in 2023” https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/research/personal-loan-study/

Data from Q3 of each year

Missing payments on personal loans

Two-thirds (65.6%) of borrowers surveyed say they have missed at least one payment on a personal loan.

According to the TransUnion, the borrower-level 60+ DPD delinquency rate on consumer loans is 3.75% as of Q1 2024. This is up compared to 3.91% in Q1 2023 and compared to 2.68% in Q1 2022. [1] TransUnion, “Economic Pressures Continue to Drive Growth in the Credit Card and Personal Loan Sectors” https://www.transunion.com/blog/q1-2024-credit-industry-insights-report

Why do people not use personal loans?

Of the respondents who said they had never used a personal loan, the majority (55.4%) said they would not consider borrowing money through this method if they needed money.

Although 57.2% said they had never needed to take out a loan, 65.7% said that high interest rates would put them off using one, while 53.6% said they were worried about getting into debt with a loan.

Reason people haven’t used personal loans % of respondents
High interest rates 65.7%
I’ve never needed one 57.2%
Worried about getting into debt 53.6%
I have borrowed money from other sources 48.8%
Feeling stigma or shame about taking out a loan 26.5%

Data note: Respondents were able to select more than one answer.

Average interest rates for personal loans

As of Q1 2024, data from TransUnion shows that the average APR for personal loans is 19.8%, an increase compared to 17.9% in Q1 2023.

Sources [3] TransUnion, “TransUnion Unsecured Personal Lending Industry Insights Report” https://www.transunion.com/content/dam/transunion/global/business/documents/fs2024/ciir-consumer-lending-report.pdf?utm_campaign=PR+Q4+2023+CIIR+&utm_content=report&utm_medium=press-release&utm_source=press-release&utm_term=PR+Q4+2023+CIIR+. Data is based on Q1 of each year and is calculated based on payment frequency, loan amount, and the due amount, not accounting for fees. The APR figures are rounded.

Frequently asked questions about personal loans

How do you get approved for a personal loan?

Approval for personal loans depends on a number of factors that represent your ability to pay back the loan. To increase your chances of getting approved, you’ll need a good credit score, a stable income, and a low debt-to-income ratio. Some lenders may have a minimum credit score to approve you for a personal loan. [4] Experian, “6 Personal Loan Requirements to Know Before You Apply” https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/personal-loan-requirements/

How much can you borrow with a personal loan?

The amount of money you can borrow through a personal loan also depends on your credit score and debt-to-income ratio. Typically, loan amounts can vary from $500 to as much as $100,000. Some banks and other lenders may have a cap of $20,000 for personal loans, while others will offer a lot more to borrowers with exceptional credit scores. [5] Forbes, “What Amount of Money Can You Get With a Personal Loan?” https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-loans/how-much-personal-loan-can-i-get

Are there restrictions on how personal loans can be used?

You can use a personal loan for a wide variety of expenses, but there may be some things that you may not be able to use a loan to pay for. These could include:

Sources [6] Credible, “What You Can’t Use a Personal Loan For” https://www.credible.com/personal-loan/what-cant-you-use-a-personal-loan-for

Methodology

A survey was carried out on behalf of Self in July 2024 which asked 1,038 adults about their use of personal loans.

Sources

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