Photo byJan Baker/Dalle

Carrying debt is the norm in today's society. There's no question that debt is more prevalent than it has ever been, and Americans are more financially in trouble than ever. (Read about budgeting apps here to take control of your finances). Let's take a look at which age groups carry the most debt.

To put everything into perspective, let's first take a look at how much debt Americans are in by category according to Debt in America.

The total number of household debt is about $16.9 trillion. This is spread out among approximately 340 million individuals. When we break this number down by categories, here's what we see.

* $11.92 trillion in mortgages

* $1.60 trillion in student loans

* $1.55 trillion in automotive loans

* $986 billion in credit cards

It is probably not a surprise that mortgages account for the highest percentage of debt. However, what should be concerning is that student loans are the second highest form of debt. Whoa!

Debt By Age

Now, let's move on to debt by age group. Can you guess which age group carries the most debt? Let's find out if you're right. Now, keep in mind that these numbers do not include mortgage debts.

* 18-29-year-olds - carry $69 billion in total, which averages to about $12,871 per person

* 30-39-year-olds - carry $1.17 trillion in total, which averages to about $26,532 per person

* 40-49-year-olds - carry $1.13 trillion in total, which averages to about $27,838 per person

* 50-59-year-olds - carry $98 billion in total, which averages to about $23,719 per person

* 60-69-year-olds - carry $64 billion in total, which averages to about $16,661 per person

* 70+ year-olds - carry $36 billion in total, which averages to about $9,827 per person

We expect that our older residents are carrying lower amounts of debt. Surprisingly, it is our middle-aged 40-49-year-old residents who carry the highest load of debt, followed very closely by residents in their 30's. This can most likely be attributed to student loans, as this is the age group in which wide use of student loans became prevalent.

Don't be a Statistic

The debt statistics are very sobering. The amount of stress that goes along with it is even more so. Take control of your finances, and don't be a debt statistic.

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