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Credit card rates jumped from about 16% to over 22% in two years.
At rates like these, every extra dollar you put toward a card balance saves you interest.
Average interest rate on credit card accounts that were charged interest, commercial banks, by year
0%6.2%12.5%18.8%25%20162018202020222024202622.15%2026
Accounts charged interest: 13.56% in 2016, 22.15% in 2026, with a high of 22.89% in 2024.
Yearly averages. 2026 is the second quarter, the latest available. 2016 to 2020 are from the Fed's G.19 release of May 7, 2021.
Source: Federal Reserve Board, Consumer Credit - G.19, July 2026 (September 8, 2026)
Show the numbers
| Accounts charged interest | |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 13.56% |
| 2017 | 14.44% |
| 2018 | 16.04% |
| 2019 | 16.98% |
| 2020 | 16.28% |
| 2021 | 16.45% |
| 2022 | 17.91% |
| 2023 | 22.15% |
| 2024 | 22.89% |
| 2025 | 22.32% |
| 2026 | 22.15% |