Americans are increasingly using plastic over cash in the checkout aisle. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans have a record $1.04 trillion in credit card debt. The temptation to buy now and pay later with a credit card is powerful — and while many pay off their balances every month, those who do not often face serious financial consequences.

According to Ted Rossman, industry analyst at research group creditcards.com, about 40% of Americans have enough income to pay off their credit card balance and do so in full every month. For them, a high credit card balance is not a problem.

For the remaining 60%, however, maintaining a high credit card balance can mean hundreds of dollars in interest payments a year and a poor credit score.

Americans owe $8,195, on average, on both retail- and bank-issued credit cards. When it comes to debts this high, borrowers should pay as much as they can afford every month. According to Rossman, a good benchmark to shoot for is using 15% of gross income to pay down credit card debt. “If you’re only making minimum payments on these kinds of debts, you’re going to be in debt for a really long time,” Rossman said.

The average credit card debt varies by state, but it does not tell the whole story. The ability to pay off outstanding credit card balances also depends on income. In wealthier states, a credit card payment equal to 15% of median monthly income is going to be higher than in poorer states — and go farther in reducing debt.

Using that 15% benchmark against median household income in the state, as well as considering the average credit card debt in that state and assuming a middle-of-the-road 20.8% interest rate, the time it would take to pay down the average credit card debt varies considerably by state, as do the total interest payments. 24/7 Wall St. used data provided by creditcards.com to identify the states with the highest credit card burden — as measured by the amount of time it would take to pay off the average state debt.

States with the lowest credit card burdens do not necessarily have the least credit card debt but they are typically wealthier, with relatively high median household income. The states with the greatest credit card burdens are concentrated in the South and tend to be relatively poor. In some states, 15% of median income is enough to pay off debts of nearly $8,000 in just nine months. In others, a similar amount of debt can take nearly a year and a half to pay down.

In the table, states are ranked by the number of months it would take to pay down the average credit card debt by making payments equal to 15% of the state’s median monthly income. Ties are broken by estimated interest payments.

Geography:	Avg. balance:	Median income:	Months to pay off:	Interest to pay off:	Avg. credit score:
United States	$8,195	$60,336	13	$964	675
1. New Mexico	$8,323	$46,744	17	$1,320	659
2. Louisiana	$8,110	$46,145	17	$1,267	650
3. West Virginia	$7,563	$43,469	17	$1,167	658
4. Alabama	$7,967	$48,123	16	$1,163	654
5. Arkansas	$7,727	$45,869	16	$1,151	657
6. Mississippi	$7,433	$43,529	16	$1,124	647
7. Georgia	$8,738	$56,183	15	$1,190	654
8. Oklahoma	$8,197	$50,051	15	$1,181	656
9. Florida	$8,363	$52,594	15	$1,168	668
10. South Carolina	$8,124	$50,570	15	$1,147	657
11. Tennessee	$7,996	$51,340	15	$1,091	662
12. Alaska	$10,685	$73,181	14	$1,358	668
13. Texas	$9,100	$59,206	14	$1,223	656
14. North Carolina	$8,062	$52,752	14	$1,077	666
15. Arizona	$8,265	$56,581	14	$1,051	669
16. Kentucky	$7,428	$48,375	14	$997	663
17. Nevada	$8,250	$58,003	13	$1,020	655
18. Kansas	$7,964	$56,422	13	$977	680
19. Missouri	$7,706	$53,578	13	$963	675
20. Wyoming	$8,199	$60,434	13	$963	678
21. Ohio	$7,654	$54,021	13	$942	678
22. Idaho	$7,518	$52,225	13	$941	681
23. Montana	$7,444	$53,386	13	$901	689
24. Indiana	$7,393	$54,181	13	$874	667
25. Michigan	$7,382	$54,909	13	$858	677
26. Virginia	$9,120	$71,535	12	$1,004	680
27. New York	$8,510	$64,894	12	$965	688
28. Delaware	$8,255	$62,852	12	$938	672
29. Illinois	$8,168	$62,992	12	$916	683
30. Pennsylvania	$7,888	$59,195	12	$909	687
31. Rhode Island	$8,162	$63,870	12	$901	687
32. Maine	$7,466	$56,277	12	$857	689
33. Vermont	$7,466	$57,513	12	$838	702
34. Oregon	$7,582	$60,212	12	$824	688
35. Nebraska	$7,515	$59,970	12	$812	695
36. South Dakota	$7,199	$56,521	12	$792	700
37. Connecticut	$9,000	$74,168	11	$941	690
38. Colorado	$8,463	$69,117	11	$893	688
39. Washington	$8,318	$70,979	11	$839	693
40. North Dakota	$7,068	$61,843	11	$694	697
41. Iowa	$6,726	$58,570	11	$664	695
42. Maryland	$9,009	$80,776	10	$864	672
43. New Jersey	$8,959	$80,088	10	$862	686
44. New Hampshire	$8,252	$73,381	10	$798	701
45. California	$8,144	$71,805	10	$794	680
46. Hawaii	$8,423	$77,765	10	$785	693
47. Utah	$7,727	$68,358	10	$751	683
48. Minnesota	$7,351	$68,388	10	$680	709
49. Wisconsin	$6,737	$59,305	10	$657	696
50. Massachusetts	$7,994	$77,385	9	$708	699

Methodology:

Average credit card debt per person by state data comes from creditcards.com and represents the sum of average bank card debt and average retail card debt. Credit card debt burden was determined by calculating how long it would take to pay down the average credit card debt in the state by paying 15% of the state’s median monthly income and assuming a 20.8% interest rate — the national median. Data on credit card debt burden was provided by creditcards.com. Median household income came from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Average credit score figures are as of 2017 and come from credit research group Experian. Credit scores are based on VantageScore, and range between 501 and 990. Scores below 630 are deemed poor, and scores above 720 are considered excellent.

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