You’ve got more than your credit score to worry about when under a pile of debt. Some 72% of Americans say they’d reconsider a romantic relationship because of another person’s debt, according to the latest findings from Finder.com. That means if you’re among the many Americans saddled with debt, you may be shrinking your pool of potential matches by roughly 182.8 million adults.

How much is too much debt?

It all depends on the type of debt and how much. According to those surveyed, the least desirable type of debt is what we’ve built on credit cards. Yet, however undesirable, debt on plastic represents the third lowest amount of acceptable debt at $12,615.96.

Interestingly, student loans are in the second spot, with 52% of those surveyed saying that education loans are unacceptable. The amount of school financing considered unacceptable comes in at an average $48,761.15, which is particularly jarring, given two in five Americans graduate with student debt.

In third place is payday loan debts, with 49% of those surveyed saying these types of debts are unacceptable. However, payday loans come with the lowest threshold for the amount of debt considered acceptable: $4,885.52.

• Average debt amount people find unacceptable in a partner
• % of people that find a particular debt unacceptable in a partner

Type of debt	%
Credit card	56%
Student loan	52%
Payday loan	49%
Mortgage	49%
Auto loan	49%
Personal loan	45%
Medical bill	45%
Family and friends	42%
Home equity loan	39%
Business loan	39%

Men and women accept debt differently

Overall, women are more likely than men to shy away from a romantic partnership if their paramour has debt. Men are more likely to hesitate if a partner owes either student loan or mortgage debt. However, women are more likely to take issue with debts related to payday loans, auto loans, personal loans, credit cards, medical bills and home equity loans.

Type of debt	% of women	% of men
Student loan	51%	52%
Mortgage	48%	50%
Payday loan	51%	47%
Auto loan	49%	48%
Family and friends	42%	42%
Personal loan	46%	45%
Credit card	56%	55%
Medical bill	46%	43%
Home equity loan	40%	39%
Business loan	39%	39%

There’s also disparity in how much debt is unacceptable. The highest amount considered unacceptable for men looking for a potential partner involves a business loan at $196,541.56. Whereas, the top figure for women is a partner with a mortgage of $272,995.37.

Gen Y don’t want no scrubs

It looks like Gen Y might be all about that paper, as they’re most likely to find all categories of debt unacceptable in a mate. Both student loan and credit card debt top their list, with 59% saying they’d steer clear of someone with this type of debt.

For the most part, Gen X and baby boomers flip-flop as most accepting generation of debt, though baby boomers are most open overall.

Type of debt	% of Baby Boomers	% of Gen X	% of Gen Y
Student loan	46%	51%	59%
Mortgage	46%	47%	53%
Payday loan	48%	47%	52%
Auto loan	47%	46%	54%
Family and friends	37%	41%	47%
Personal loan	44%	44%	49%
Credit card	56%	53%	59%
Medical bill	43%	42%	50%
Home equity loan	37%	38%	43%
Business loan	35%	38%	44%

Past Unacceptable Partner Debt Stats

• 2018

  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, household debt was at an all-time high between 2004 and the third quarter of 2017, when it totaled $12.96 trillion. This is an increase of $280 billion from 2008’s third-quarter peak during that year’s financial crisis.

  Many different types of credit commitments contribute to overall household debt, and we weigh each differently according to how we prioritize their importance.

  Attempting to dig deep into the details, finder.com surveyed 2,000 Americans to find out which types of debt we find most unacceptable in a partner.

  

  Our survey revealed that of household debts, Americans find credit card debt most unacceptable in a partner — with 77.55% of our respondents saying debt on plastic is most distasteful. Payday loans closely followed at 77.35%.

  Some 3 in 4 Americans may not fully appreciate the value a college degree can provide: 76.20% (about 187.14 million) name student loans an unacceptable debt, finding an average $51,000 in debt objectionable. (The good news is that only 1 in 4 students owes $43,000 or more in student loans, according to a 2016 report from the Pew Research Center.)

  More Americans find it harder to accept a partner’s need to borrow money for medical purposes than they do for a business loan. Americans find business loans the most tolerable type of debt, with an estimated 70.90% considering borrowing for a business unacceptable in a partner, followed by home equity loans at 71.25% and medical bills at 72.20%.

  Debt	Average amount considered unacceptable	Proportion of respondents who consider each debt unacceptable
  Student loan	$51,000	76.20%
  Mortgage	$305,745	72.85%
  Payday loan	$1,830	77.35%
  Auto loan	$27,298	72.55%
  Family and friends	$6,092	73.95%
  Credit card	$11,525	77.55%
  Medical bill	$35,221	72.20%
  Home equity loan	$77,193	71.25%
  Personal loan	$25,905	72.80%
  Business loan	$153,166	70.90%

  Source: finder.com

  Gender

  When it comes to gender, there isn’t much difference between the types of debt each consider unacceptable in a partner. The top three most unacceptable debts for both genders are consistent: credit card, payday loans and student loans. The most accepted loans are again business loans, home equity loans, and medical bills, which for men tied with money owed to family and friends.

  Debt	Proportion of women who consider each debt unacceptable	Proportion of men who consider each debt unacceptable
  Student loan	75.69%	76.73%
  Mortgage	72.35%	73.37%
  Payday loan	77.06%	77.65%
  Auto loan	72.35%	72.76%
  Family and friends	75.49%	72.35%
  Credit card	77.75%	77.35%
  Medical bill	72.06%	72.35%
  Home equity loan	71.27%	71.22%
  Personal loan	72.65%	72.96%
  Business loan	70.78%	71.02%

  Source: finder.com

  Generation

  More baby boomers than any other generation consider all debts except student loans unacceptable in a partner. Whereas millennials are least tolerant of student loans, more than 4 in 5 of them consider it unacceptable in a partner.

  Gen Xers appear the most tolerant generation when it comes to debt in any form. However, Gen X finds payday loans (74.67%) slightly more unacceptable than credit cards (74.01%). Baby boomers are consistent with the general population trend: 81.36% find credit cards most unacceptable, followed by payday loans (80.83%) and student loans (76.96%). The most unacceptable loans for millennials are student loans at 80.04%, credit cards at 77.19% and payday loans at 76.17%.

  Debt	Proportion of baby boomers who consider each debt unacceptable	Proportion of Gen Xers who consider each debt unacceptable	Proportion of millennials who consider each debt unacceptable
  Student loan	76.96%	72.96%	80.04%
  Mortgage	75.23%	69.53%	74.34%
  Payday loan	80.83%	74.67%	76.17%
  Auto loan	75.63%	68.47%	74.13%
  Family and friends	76.43%	70.71%	75.15%
  Credit card	81.36%	74.01%	77.19%
  Medical bill	76.17%	68.34%	72.10%
  Home equity loan	74.97%	66.75%	72.51%
  Personal loan	76.30%	68.60%	73.93%
  Business loan	74.30%	66.49%	72.51%

  Source: finder.com