Younger generations have less borrowing capacity

Summary

• Younger generations have less borrowing capacity than older generations based on credit card utilization rates.
• Baby Boomers have more borrowing capacity than Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X across all income cohorts.
• In August 2026, utilization rates for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X remained well above Baby Boomers' 2019 levels.
• Most young revolvers have gained borrowing capacity since 2019, though Millennials have made the least progress with rates still roughly in line with 2019.
• Median credit card utilization for revolvers is indexed to Baby Boomers' 2019 average of 100, where values below 100 indicate a decrease relative to 2019.
• More consumers are paying off their full credit card balance each month compared to a year ago and pre-pandemic levels.
• Utilization rates for those carrying a balance have fallen year-over-year and are now close to pre-pandemic levels.
• Data is derived from aggregated \& anonymized Bank of America transaction data including US Retail, Preferred, Small Business, \& Wealth Management clients.
• Income terciles are defined as lower, middle, \& higher based on quantitative estimates of household income.
• Generations are defined as Gen Z (born after 1995), Younger Millennials (1989-1995), Older Millennials (1978-1988), Gen X (1965-1977), \& Baby Boomers (1946-1964).