- The average monthly new car payment in 2026 is about $755, up from $104 in 1971, a 7.3-fold increase over 55 years.
- The single largest one-year jump in this record was 2021 to 2022, up $72/month (from $599 to $671), as loan amounts and rates rose together.
- Payments haven't risen every year: they fell in 10 of the 55 year-to-year changes, including four consecutive declines from 2010 through 2013, when the average interest rate fell and the average amount financed was little changed.
- From 2020 to 2026, the average payment rose 29.9%, from $581 to $755 a month.
01 Introduction
The average monthly car payment isn't published directly by any single government agency, but it can be computed reliably from three figures the Federal Reserve does publish every year for new car loans: the average amount financed, the average interest rate, and the average loan term. This article combines those three into a single average-payment figure for every year from 1971 through 2026, using the same standard loan-payment formula any lender uses to calculate a monthly bill.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release, historical data files: average amount financed, average interest rate, and average maturity for new car loans at finance companies02 Average Payment by Year
The table below shows the computed average monthly new car payment for every year from 1971 through 2026, based on that year's average loan amount, rate, and term.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release, historical data files. Payment computed as a standard fixed-payment (amortizing) loan using each year's average amount financed, interest rate, and term at finance companies. 2026 reflects a partial year (the monthly readings for January through March 2026).| Year | Avg. Payment | Year | Avg. Payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | $104 | 1972 | $106 |
| 1973 | $112 | 1974 | $122 |
| 1975 | $133 | 1976 | $143 |
| 1977 | $153 | 1978 | $164 |
| 1979 | $174 | 1980 | $185 |
| 1981 | $218 | 1982 | $240 |
| 1983 | $242 | 1984 | $257 |
| 1985 | $247 | 1986 | $259 |
| 1987 | $264 | 1988 | $276 |
| 1989 | $292 | 1990 | $291 |
| 1991 | $299 | 1992 | $313 |
| 1993 | $324 | 1994 | $350 |
| 1995 | $379 | 1996 | $397 |
| 1997 | $391 | 1998 | $414 |
| 1999 | $431 | 2000 | $443 |
| 2001 | $471 | 2002 | $482 |
| 2003 | $473 | 2004 | $464 |
| 2005 | $467 | 2006 | $481 |
| 2007 | $517 | 2008 | $464 |
| 2009 | $480 | 2010 | $470 |
| 2011 | $464 | 2012 | $463 |
| 2013 | $461 | 2014 | $468 |
| 2015 | $483 | 2016 | $497 |
| 2017 | $506 | 2018 | $538 |
| 2019 | $560 | 2020 | $581 |
| 2021 | $597 | 2022 | $674 |
| 2023 | $706 | 2024 | $707 |
| 2025 | $729 | 2026* | $755 |
03 Key Trends
1971-1990: rising with inflation and rates. The average payment grew from $104 to $291 across two decades. The 1980-1982 span alone added $55 to the average payment; the average finance company rate was above 16% in 1981 and 1982.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release, historical data files2010-2013: the longest run of declines. This is the longest stretch in the record where the average payment fell in consecutive years: four in a row, from $480 in 2009 to $461 in 2013. The average finance company rate fell from 5.20% in 2009 to 4.46% in 2011, and the average amount financed was $25,326 in 2009 and $25,586 in 2013.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release, historical data files2021-2022: the largest single-year jump on record. The average payment rose from $597 to $674, a $77 increase in one year, larger than any other year-over-year change in this 55-change series. In 2022 the average amount financed rose to $38,900 from $35,307 in 2021 and the average finance company rate rose to 5.23% from 4.64%.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release, historical data files. Year-over-year change calculated as the difference between each year's computed payment and the prior year's.Estimate your vehicle's total driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator04 What Drives the Payment: Amount, Rate, and Term
The average payment is the product of three separate trends, each of which has moved differently over time:
- Amount financed has grown almost every year, from $3,054 in 1971 to $42,504 in 2026 (it fell in only 5 of the 55 year-to-year changes). See how much car you can actually afford.
- Interest rates have swung far more than the loan amount, from a low of 4.19% (2015, bank series) to a high of 16.82% (1982, bank series), which is why payment growth hasn't been smooth even though loan amounts have grown almost continuously. See the full auto loan interest rate history.
- Loan term has stretched from 35 months in 1971 to about 66 months in 2026, which lowers the monthly payment for a given amount and rate, partly offsetting the effect of larger loan amounts. See how loan amounts and terms have grown.
05 What This Means for Car Shopping
Because term stretching offsets rising loan amounts, a rising average payment actually understates how much more buyers are borrowing: the 2026 average payment of $755 reflects a loan nearly 14 times larger than 1971's, spread over nearly twice as many months. A buyer comparing their own quote to this average should check all three inputs separately, not just the monthly number, since the same payment can represent very different total costs depending on the rate and term behind it. See when refinancing makes sense and how much to put down for how each of those pieces can be improved individually.
06 Data Sources
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: G.19 Consumer Credit statistical release, historical data files (average amount financed, interest rate, and maturity for new car loans). federalreserve.gov
- This site's related analysis: Auto Loan Interest Rates by Year, 1972-2026, Bank vs. Finance Company Auto Loans, How Much Should You Put Down on a Car?, and How Much Car Can You Actually Afford?