Being my usual pain in the a$$ self, I did some more research .. that $8500 for every person sounded high ... the average adult has a bit over $2000 in credit card debt.

A company called www.usdebtservice.com has stats broken down by age and geography ... They are a for profit company which will help someone with excess credit card debt.

I am using their figures, because they would be inclined, if anything, to OVERSTATE credit card debt levels, as there would be profit for them in doing so.