25 of the worst US cities for credit card debt
Wikimedia Commons
Americans are in over their heads when it comes to credit card debt.
The average indebted credit card holder carries an outstanding balance of $5,849, according to WalletHub. Collectively, Americans owed $927.1 billion on credit cards as of the third quarter of 2016.
In a recent study, WalletHub examined the relationship between a city's average credit card balance and its median income, ranking them by how long it would take the average person to pay off the debt given those factors.
Cities where residents have high credit card balances and low median incomes (well below the national median income of $32,261) naturally fare the worst. Residents of these cities would likely struggle to meet the minimum payments on their high card balances, incurring hefty interest payments and potential fees and severely prolonging their repayment period.
Using WalletHub's data for the 25 worst cities, we determined the debt-to-income ratio for each city and ranked them based on this metric. That is, we ranked them based on the average resident's credit card debt represented as a percentage of the median income.
Below, check out 25 of the worst cities for credit card debt.
Andy Kiersz contributed to this report.
25. Provo, Utah
Provo City/Facebook
Median income: $12,032
Average credit card balance: $4,084
Debt as a percentage of income: 33.94%
24. Russellville, Arkansas
AP/Danny Johnston
Median income: $17,054
Average credit card balance: $5,791
Debt as a percentage of income: 33.96%
23. Plattsburgh, New York
gmdealer/Flickr
Median income: $16,349
Average credit card balance: $5,620
Debt as a percentage of income: 34.38%
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