Average Debt in Canada by Age: With and Without a Mortgage
Most of the money Canadians owe isn’t on credit cards. Mortgages make up 82.5% of household debt, according to Statistics Canada, and credit cards and instalment plans just 2.3%. In 2023, 69% of Canadian family units owed money, and the median debt among them was $100,000. For the 58% with debt other than a mortgage, the median was $21,000.
The tables below give the average debt in Canada by age, with and without a mortgage, for families and for individuals, along with what has changed since 2023.
What is the average debt in Canada by age?
Canadians owe the most between 35 and 44. In 2023, 84.1% of family units in that age group had debt, and the median among them was $190,000. Under 35, the median was $80,000. After 65, fewer than half had any debt, and those who did owed a median of $28,000. Age here means the age of the family’s main earner.
| Age of main earner | Share with debt | Median debt | Average debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 78.3% | $80,000 | $186,600 |
| 35 to 44 | 84.1% | $190,000 | $287,200 |
| 45 to 54 | 83.6% | $160,800 | $273,000 |
| 55 to 64 | 68.1% | $88,000 | $199,400 |
| 65 and over | 44.2% | $28,000 | $91,400 |
| All ages | 68.9% | $100,000 | $211,500 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01 (opens in a new tab), Survey of Financial Security, 2023. A family unit is a family, or one person living alone or with roommates. Medians and averages include only family units with debt. Statistics Canada says to use the under-35 median with caution because it’s less precise.
The average is about twice the median because people with a mortgage owe far more than everyone else, which pulls the average up. The median is the family unit in the middle, so it’s the fairer number to compare yourself with.
Why debt peaks between 35 and 44
People aged 35 to 44 are the most likely to have a mortgage, and their mortgages are the biggest. In 2023, 58.5% of family units aged 35 to 44 had a mortgage, with a median balance of $247,000. After 55, the share drops as more people finish paying off their homes.
| Age of main earner | Share with a mortgage | Median mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 38.1% | $232,600 |
| 35 to 44 | 58.5% | $247,000 |
| 45 to 54 | 58.0% | $210,500 |
| 55 to 64 | 38.5% | $179,000 |
| 65 and over | 15.9% | $111,000 |
| All ages | 39.0% | $205,000 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01, 2023. Includes mortgages on a home and on other property. Medians include only family units with a mortgage.
People who live alone owe much less
People living alone are less likely to have debt, and they owe far less when they do. In 2023, 55.8% of people living alone or with roommates had debt, with a median of $31,000. Among families, usually couples with or without kids, 77.2% had debt and the median was $149,900. Under 35, 70.7% of people living alone had debt, with a median of $30,000.
What is the average debt in Canada excluding mortgages?
If you leave mortgages out, the median debt in 2023 was $21,000 among the 58.4% of family units that had other debts. The average was $43,500. Non-mortgage debt barely changes with age until 55. About 7 in 10 family units under 55 had some, and the median stayed between $25,000 and $27,000.
The table below covers lines of credit, credit cards, car loans, student loans and other debts.
| Age of main earner | Share with debt | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 69.8% | $25,000 | $36,600 |
| 35 to 44 | 69.1% | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| 45 to 54 | 69.5% | $27,000 | $54,300 |
| 55 to 64 | 57.6% | $22,000 | $49,800 |
| 65 and over | 37.7% | $11,100 | $32,700 |
| All ages | 58.4% | $21,000 | $43,500 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01, 2023. Medians and averages include only family units with non-mortgage debt.
What non-mortgage debt is made of
Credit cards and car loans are the most common. In 2023, 36.0% of family units owed money on credit cards or instalment plans, and 27.1% had a car loan. Car loans are much bigger, though, with a median of $20,000 against $4,500 on cards.
| Type of debt | Share, all ages | Share, under 35 | Median owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit cards and instalment plans | 36.0% | 42.1% | $4,500 |
| Car loans | 27.1% | 35.3% | $20,000 |
| Lines of credit | 18.7% | 17.0% | $20,000 |
| Student loans | 12.0% | 26.6% | $14,000 |
| Other debt | 8.3% | 9.2% | $8,500 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01, 2023. The median is for all ages and includes only family units that have that debt.
Student loans are the biggest difference under 35. More than a quarter of young family units (26.6%) still owed money on one, with a median of $15,000.
Credit card debt by age
Card balances are highest in middle age. Among family units that owed money on credit cards or instalment plans in 2023, the median was $4,000 under 35, $5,000 at 35 to 44 and $5,500 at 45 to 54, then $3,000 after 65. Balances have also grown. In 2023 dollars, the median for all ages went from $3,500 in 2019 to $4,500 in 2023.
How much debt does the average Canadian have per person?
Equifax Canada puts average non-mortgage debt at $22,699 per person for the second quarter of 2026, up 2.59% from a year earlier. It’s lowest from 18 to 25, at $8,746, and peaks at 46 to 55, at $35,379. Credit bureau figures count individuals rather than families, and these leave out mortgages.
| Age | Average debt | Change in a year |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 25 | $8,746 | +3.42% |
| 26 to 35 | $17,632 | +0.74% |
| 36 to 45 | $27,509 | +1.57% |
| 46 to 55 | $35,379 | +1.84% |
| 56 to 65 | $30,718 | +4.69% |
| 65 and over | $15,567 | +4.17% |
| Canada | $22,699 | +2.59% |
Source: Equifax Canada, Market Pulse report for the second quarter of 2026 (opens in a new tab), released August 24, 2026. Non-mortgage debt only.
Equifax also tracks how much of that debt is 90 days or more past due. For ages 26 to 35, it was 2.59% of balances, the highest of any age group, against 1.15% for people 65 and over.
Per family, per household or per person
Each source counts something different, which is why figures for average debt in Canada vary so much:
- Statistics Canada’s survey, used in the first four tables, counts family units, and its medians include only those with debt. It’s the only source with medians and types of debt by age, and its latest data is from 2023.
- Statistics Canada’s household accounts, used in the next section, spread debt over every household, including those that owe nothing. They run to the end of 2025.
- Credit bureaus count individuals, from the credit files lenders report to them. Equifax’s figures above are the newest. TransUnion put the average at $28,118 for the same quarter, but its figure counts only Canadians who have non-mortgage debt (opens in a new tab).
Has debt gone up since 2023?
Yes, mostly for older households. Average debt per household rose 6.6% between the end of 2023 and the end of 2025, to $189,606. Debt rose about 12% for households aged 55 to 64 and for those 65 and over, while it barely changed for households under 35, up 1.2%.
| Age of main earner | Average debt, 2025 | Excluding mortgages | Change since 2023 | Debt to income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $172,275 | $46,064 | +1.2% | 166.0% |
| 35 to 44 | $306,867 | $60,177 | +5.8% | 245.8% |
| 45 to 54 | $319,144 | $78,725 | +7.6% | 220.3% |
| 55 to 64 | $207,769 | $64,023 | +12.5% | 174.4% |
| 65 and over | $56,842 | $23,597 | +12.1% | 70.2% |
| All households | $189,606 | $49,698 | +6.6% | 173.3% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 36-10-0660-01 (opens in a new tab) and Table 36-10-0664-01 (opens in a new tab), fourth quarter of each year. Averages per household, including households with no debt, not adjusted for inflation. The change is for total debt. Debt to income compares total debt with a year of after-tax income.
Use this table to see which way debt is moving. It’s built differently from the survey and includes households with no debt, so its numbers won’t match the tables above. In this table, households aged 45 to 54 owe a little more than those aged 35 to 44.
Households near retirement are borrowing more
Households aged 55 to 64 had the fastest growth in mortgage debt in 2025, up 6.0% in a year, according to Statistics Canada’s April 2026 release (opens in a new tab). The agency says some may be borrowing to buy an investment property or to help younger relatives buy a home. Their debt-to-income ratio rose from 167.9% at the end of 2023 to 174.4% at the end of 2025.
Under 35, debt is flat, but interest costs haven’t fallen
Young households’ incomes grew faster than their debt, so their debt-to-income ratio fell from 178.0% at the end of 2023 to 166.0% at the end of 2025. Their interest costs didn’t drop, though. Interest took 10.5% of their after-tax income at the end of 2025, about the same as a year earlier, even after rate cuts. Statistics Canada says some may be renewing or refinancing debt at higher rates than they got at the start of the pandemic.
For the country as a whole, the latest figure covers the second quarter of 2026. Canadian households owed $1.76 of debt for every dollar of after-tax income (opens in a new tab), down from about $1.79 in the first quarter, because incomes grew faster than debt. It’s measured a little differently from the ratios in the table, so the numbers don’t match exactly.
How do you know if your debt is normal?
Compare yourself with people in the same situation, not with the national average. If you rent, use the non-mortgage table, where the median for family units under 35 with debt is $25,000. If you own, start with the mortgage table for your age. Then compare your monthly payments with your income. That ratio matters more than the total you owe.
A mortgage changes how much you owe far more than your age does. At the end of 2025, Statistics Canada’s household accounts put the average debt of homeowners with a mortgage at $410,775, about three times a year of their after-tax income (306.1%). Renters owed $41,324 on average, or 56.4% of a year’s after-tax income.
If keeping up is hard, the order you pay things off in matters. We cover it in our guide on whether to pay off debt or save first. For what Canadians own rather than what they owe, see our guides to average savings by age and average net worth by age.
Keeping some savings while the debt comes down
Most of the debt in this guide is a mortgage or a car loan, paid down on a schedule. The debt that tends to grow is the one that goes on a credit card when something breaks and there’s no money set aside. Even a small amount of savings makes that less likely, but it’s hard to keep adding to it when every spare dollar could go to a balance.
Lodavo gives you a reason to keep going. Connect the savings or chequing account you already use, and every $25 you have saved earns a free ticket in a weekly draw for cash prizes up to $10,000. Every week, a user wins at least $100. The bigger your balance, the more chances you get, and your money stays in your own account.
Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab) and start earning tickets for the weekly draw.
Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.
Frequently asked questions
How much student debt does the average Canadian graduate have?
Where can you get help if your debt feels unmanageable?
When will newer debt numbers come out?
Canada’s first prize-linked savings app
The more you save, the more chances you get to win
Lodavo is free. Keep saving in the account you already use, and earn free tickets in every weekly draw.
Scan to download4.7 out of 5 · Free
