Debt collection industry analytics provide deep perception into the U.S. marketplace for expert debt collection offerings. Understanding how the debt collections industry has managed over the last two years of crisis can allow organizations to dive deeper into key indicators that allow decision-makers to plan better for the future.
In this post, we’ll share a number of the important collections statistics to better understand where the enterprise stands and discover the traits shaping the current debt series.
Market growth: The market size, measured by revenue, of the Debt Collection Agencies industry is $18.8 billion in 2022.
Industry size: The market size of the Debt Collection Agencies industry in the U.S. has grown 2.6% per year on average between 2017 and 2022.
Growth comparison: 1.3% U.S. market size growth in 2022
What Debt Collection Industry Statistics Show Us
One thing is clear from these statistics: there’s been a huge demand for debt collection services in recent years. This is only reinforced by yet another statistic: approximately 28% of Americans have at least one debt in collections. Figures like these are driving much of the growth within the industry. But where is the growth coming from with regards to consumer debt?
What Are the Top Three Sources of Debt?
- Credit Card Debt – The average American household has about $15,000 in credit card debt.
- Student Loans – In 2019 alone, close to 500,000 new student loans were originated, marking a total of $6.6 billion borrowed.
- Medical Bills – 52% of all debt collections involve medical debts. This is because 41$ of working Americans are currently paying off a medical debt of some kind.
What trends are we seeing in the industry right now? Dependency on credit card usage, increased student tuition costs, and the continuing lack of affordable healthcare are raising debt delinquency and forcing more people into collections. With these statistics in mind, the industry is likely to experience continued growth in the foreseeable future.
Covid’s Shift on the Debt Collections Industry
Covid-19 has been a leading event leading to shifts in the debt collections industry. Shutdowns have meant that debt collection halted in many states, as the industry wasn’t considered an essential service. Special regulations prevented foreclosures and evictions in several states, forcing collections to slow down.
That said, as of now, there are few statistics that show the effect of the pandemic on both consumer debt and the collections industry. Industry experts expect data to take years to be able to tell the full story. However, what is clear is that according to data from Deloitte, non-financial businesses in the U.S. now hold $17.7 trillion in total outstanding debt.
For the team at Capital Recovery, this means that we will continue to work for our clients to establish an internal recovery system and provide top-rated business debt collection services. We have the expertise to institute the right program for your needs. Reach out to our team today to start a conversation.