This Is the State With the Most Credit Card Debt

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: March 10, 2022 10:30 am

Nationwide, Americans owe $807 billion across 506 million credit cards. That means there are 1.5 cards per person. That figure is misleading to the extent that few people under 18 have a card. Some studies show characteristics of credit card debt by demographics. As would be expected, people with higher incomes have more debt than people in lower-income brackets.

Including both bank and retail plastic, credit card debt averaged $6,569 per cardholder with unpaid balances in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to 2022 Credit Card Debt Statistics from Lending Tree. Just like housing costs and gas prices, credit card debt varies by state.

To determine the state with the most credit card debt, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Lending Tree’s report. States were ranked on the average credit card debt per cardholder, using credit report data from 2021.

New Jerseyans shouldered the most credit card debt at an average of $7,872 per cardholder. Other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have residents with high unpaid balances, as well. Connecticut came in at number two with average debt per cardholder of $7,721, while the average debt in third place Maryland was $7,464.

Meanwhile, Kentuckians are living comparatively debt-free with an average unpaid credit card balance of $5,441. That is nearly $2,500 less than New Jersey cardholders. The disparity could be attributed to the higher cost of living in the Garden State. According to a 24/7 Wall St. study, the cost of living in New Jersey is 15% higher than the average nationwide, while the cost of living in Kentucky is 7% less than average.

Click here to see all the states with the most credit card debt.

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¹https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps