Household debt in America has been reshaped in ways thatcould potentially affect how financial experts can help manage aconsumer's liabilities.

The overall debt burden of U.S. households is $100 billionsmaller than it was in 2008, and its breakdown looks a lotdifferent, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bankof New York. Though mortgage debt remains the biggest burden, itsshare of household debt has declined along with that of credit carddebt, while the share of student debt and auto loan debt hasrisen.

As of the end of 2016, mortgage debt accounted for 71% ofhousehold debt, down from almost 79% in 2008, while student debtmore than doubled since 2008 and more than tripled since 2003, to10.4%.

Auto loan debt had a 9.2% share at the end of 2016, aboutone-third larger than its 2008 share. All three types of debt ateup bigger shares of households' income than credit card debt.

In dollar terms, housing debt fell $1 billion from its2008 peak to $9 trillion, while student debt rose $700 billion to$1.3 trillion and auto debt gained $350 billion to $1.16billion.

Changing Demographics

The demographics of U.S. debt are also changing. Olderhouseholds, headed by those 60 and older, now account for just over22% of outstanding U.S. debt, up from near 16% in 2008.

While that is not necessarily good news for older householdsgiven that many are in or near retirement, it has raised thequality of debt outstanding since older households tend to havehigher and more stable incomes than other age groups, according tothe New York Fed.

As a result of these demographic changes plus tighter lendingstandards for mortgages — though not for auto loans —delinquency rates have fallen overall and foreclosure andbankruptcy rates are at their lowest levels since the New York Fedbegan collecting this data in 1999.

The creditworthiness of borrowers has also risen. Loan balancesfor borrowers with credit scores over 760 have risen by $878billion while balances held by subprime borrowers have fallen by$752 billion since 2008.

But despite this good news, all is not well in the world of U.S.consumer debt, especially for younger people.

The Student Debt Burden

Student debt today is more than five times what it was 14 yearsago as the number of borrowers has increased along with the averagesize of loans and length of repayment schedules, according to theNew York Fed.

It totals $1.3 trillion and borrowers number 44 million, up 60%from 2006. Graduates owed an average $34,000 in student loans in2015 compared with $20,000 just 10 years earlier.

About one-third of them owed less than $10,000, 65% owed morethan $25,000 and 5% owed more than $100,000, but those high-balanceborrowers accounted for about one-third of the balancesoutstanding.

Traditionally, high-balance borrowers have sharply lower defaultrates than other borrowers, but that gap is narrowing. Thefive-year default rate for borrowers owing more than $100,000 whograduated in 2010-2011 was 21% at the end of 2016 compared with 17%for those who graduated between 2007 and 2009 and to 6% for thosewho graduated between 2005 and 2006.

Overall default rates, however, peaked at around 30% in 2013 andhave stabilized since then but delinquency rates “remain stubbornlyhigh,” according to the New York Fed Report.

The rise in student debt has implications for the broadereconomy, specifically the housing market and consumer spending overthe longer term.

“Those with significant student debt are much less likely to owna home at any given age than those who completed their educationwith little or no student debt,” said William Dudley, president andCEO of the New York Fed at a press briefing about the newreport.

He noted that the failure to own a home has broader economicimplications. “Homeownership is more than just consumption — it hashistorically been an important form of wealth accumulation. For alarge share of households, housing equity is the principal form ofwealth.”

Despite the finding that student loan debt hampers future homeownership and wealth accumulation, not attending college is an evengreater impediment.

“College attendance is associated with higher homeownershiprates by age 25, regardless of debt status,” according to the NewYork Fed report. And those who graduate have even higher rates ofhomeownership. “Graduation, measured by highest degree attained, isassociated with markedly higher homeownership rates, irrespectiveof debt status.”