It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961, they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year.
Our researchers found the median debt per American household to be $2,300, while the average debt stands at $5,700. Combined data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve allowed us to dive deeper into credit card debt in the United States, and look beyond the face value of those two figures.
In December 2007, Americans had $12.37 trillion in total debt and $839 billion in credit card debt. [2] Total debt is expected to surpass the 2007 number by the end of 2016 due largely to mortgages and student loans. Thatâs not a surprise, considering the increase in costs for housing and education described earlier.