Research & data

Studies

• The price of relief: what debt amounts Americans search to escape (2026) — 216 distinct searches name a specific dollar amount owed; the single most-searched amount is a $5,000 credit-card balance and the median is $50,000 — but the distribution is bimodal, and 86 of the 123 searches naming $50,000+ are student loans or IRS back-taxes, debts a paid unsecured settlement cannot touch. The amount tells you the right door: a DIY payoff plan for small card balances, free federal programs for the big federal ones
• How fast Americans want debt gone: the urgency gap (2026) — About 1 in 82 distinct debt searches carries a time-pressure signal — 'emergency' (747) leads, 'fast' (535) is close behind; the catch is that the fastest searches collide with the slowest marketed fix, so the honest fast levers are free (stop-the-calls, a validation letter, a hardship plan), not a multi-year program
• The emotional weight of debt: how Americans search the feeling, not the balance (2026) — About 1 in 90 distinct debt searches names a feeling, not a balance; anxiety (422) and shame (400) are nearly tied as the most-searched emotion about debt — and the honest first move for distress is free, not a paid program
• What Americans fear most about debt: a ranking of the consequences they dread (2026) — 11,239 searches name a feared consequence; wage garnishment leads, ahead of repossession and lawsuits — all real but defusable — while 824 chase jail or deportation, which mostly can't happen for consumer debt
• Which debt-relief method do Americans search for? A demand map of the solutions people name (2026) — 14,783 searches name a method; the most-named is forgiveness/discharge (mostly free, federal student loans), and free or self-help routes outnumber paid programs
• Which debts do Americans seek relief from? A demand ranking (2026) — Education ties credit cards at the top; BNPL already outranks auto & payday debt
• Buy now, pay later is now 1 in 15 debt-relief searches (2026) — BNPL is the least 'ready-to-act' category — searchers are still figuring out what they owe
• The high-cost credit trap: 1 in 16 debt searches involves payday, title, rent-to-own or MCA loans (2026) — A consumer-protection map of the most expensive, hardest-collected credit
• The life events behind America's debt-relief searches (2026) — Two in three sub-niches map to a turning point — students & the sick lead by a wide margin
• Debt in the dark: secrecy, shame & relationship strain (2026) — 1 topic in 24 is debt hidden from a partner or family — and the smallest slice, coerced debt, needs the most careful help
• Debt by profession: the jobs behind America's debt-relief searches (2026) — 1 in 7 topics is framed around a job; gig & self-employed work leads, and the busiest searches are about tax bills, not credit cards
• Who's just looking, and who's ready to act? An intent map of debt-relief search (2026) — Only 1 search in 4 is ready to act — mortgage-debt searchers are 3× more decision-driven than buy-now-pay-later searchers
• The debt-relief trust gap: how much Americans doubt before they ask for help (2026) — 4,060 distinct searches carry a skepticism signal; 'is it a scam' is the #1 doubt, and debt-relief companies are the most-vetted category of all
• Whose debt is it? A map of America's debt-liability anxiety (2026) — 2,384 distinct searches ask whether someone is legally on the hook for a debt — a spouse's, a deceased relative's, a cosigned loan; for most the honest answer is reassurance and free, not a paid program
• Debt across the generations: how the search for relief changes with age (2026) — Age-coded demand clusters at two ends — Gen Z & new grads on BNPL/student loans, and fixed-income seniors — with a thin midlife middle; at both ends the best first call is free
• The free-first map: how often the best debt-relief move costs nothing (2026) — For 54% of mapped demand the best first door is free or protective (charity care, a .gov channel, a legal defense); a paid program is a legitimate first-line option for about a third
• Can you go to jail for debt? The fears Americans search for (2026) — Americans worry 6× more about their credit score than jail — which isn't even possible for consumer debt
• When debt becomes an emergency: the crises Americans search for most — Repossession, garnishment & lawsuits dominate the 11% of searches that are urgent
• What Americans actually ask about debt relief: 30,000 questions — People fear lawsuits & taxes more than the cost of relief
• Wage garnishment & statute of limitations by state (2026) — All 50 states + D.C., with statute citations
• The debt-relief search landscape 2026 — What Americans actually ask