"Mastercard and Visa, American Express / I ain't got nothing against no credit cards, but the cash is the best." So sang Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers in their 1984 hit, "We Need Some Money." Cash may indeed be a preferable option to incurring debt, and Americans seem to be taking the hint: According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, credit card debt has decreased substantially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new MoneyGeek study about average credit card debt in the U.S. reveals that total credit card balances amounted to $787 billion in Q2 2021, which is 8.5% lower than the Q1 2020 total of $893 billion. Cardholders paid down $106 billion of credit card debt since the beginning of the pandemic, the study says. The average credit card debt per cardholder decreased by 12%, or $766, from Q1 2020 to Q2 2021. The average cardholder in Q1 2020 had $6,434, according to the study. MoneyGeek also took a deep dive into average credit card debt by age, income, and state. Using data from the Federal Reserve's 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances, the study found that adults 75 or older have the highest average credit card debt at $8,100. However, Americans 45-54 years old are the likeliest age group to carry credit card debt, with 52% of them having it. Only 28% of adults 75 and over carry debt. The study additionally found that households with higher incomes will tend to carry higher credit card debts. Households in the 90th to 100th income percentiles average $12,600 of credit card debt, more than three times than the income bracket carrying the lowest average debt ($3,800). See our slideshow above for the states carrying the highest and lowest average credit card debt, and click here for the full study.