Reference data
A sourced snapshot of reporting complaints, credit-card use, and identity-theft reports. Every figure names its original public source and data year.
Last updated October 13, 2026
Credit decisions begin with information, but the landscape can be hard to read. This reference brings together the latest relevant public data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Trade Commission. It is designed for readers who need figures they can review, quote, and trace to the original publication.
The CFPB received more than 5.8 million credit or consumer reporting complaints in 2025. That category made up 88% of the complaints it received that year.
Source: CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report, published March 2026, reporting 2025 dataThe CFPB sent about 5.3 million of its 2025 credit or consumer reporting complaints to companies for review and response.
Source: CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report, published March 2026, reporting 2025 dataAmong 2025 credit or consumer reporting complaints, consumers reported first attempting to resolve the issue with the company in 88% of cases sent for review.
Source: CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report, published March 2026, reporting 2025 dataThe Federal Reserve found that 82% of adults had a credit card in 2025.
Source: Federal Reserve SHED report, published May 2026, reporting 2025 dataAmong people who had a credit card, 45% said they carried a balance at least once in the prior 12 months.
Source: Federal Reserve SHED report, published May 2026, reporting 2025 dataIn 2025, 33% of adults applied for some type of credit. Among those applicants, one-third said they were denied or approved for less credit than they requested.
Source: Federal Reserve SHED report, published May 2026, reporting 2025 dataThe FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network received 6.5 million consumer reports in 2024 across fraud, identity theft, and other consumer-protection topics.
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, published March 2025, reporting 2024 dataIdentity theft accounted for 1.1 million reports in the FTC’s 2024 Consumer Sentinel Network data.
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, published March 2025, reporting 2024 dataCredit-card misuse, involving an existing account or an application for a new card, was the most commonly reported type of identity theft in the FTC’s 2024 data.
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, published March 2025, reporting 2024 dataMethodology and sources
These statistics are drawn directly from public reports. Complaint and report totals describe submissions received by the cited agency or network. They do not necessarily represent unique people, verified events, or a rate of successful dispute outcomes.
Data years are shown in each citation because the newest public reports do not all cover the same calendar year. We will review this page regularly and update figures when a primary source publishes newer comparable data.
Sekond Khance Enterprise. “U.S. Credit Report and Consumer Credit Statistics.” Updated October 13, 2026. https://sekondkhance.com/credit-report-statistics
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