Credit Cards

States with the highest credit card debt

Published

September 17, 2023

Californians are racking up the most credit card debt, according to recent data from personal finance website WalletHub.

Currently, consumers across the nation hold $1 trillion in credit card debt.

In 2022 alone, $116 billion in new credit card debt was added as inflation continued to weigh on household budgets. In the second quarter of 2023, consumers added almost $43 billion, which marks the second-largest increase during that period to date, according to WalletHub.

For the average household, credit card balances sat at about $10,170 at the end of the second quarter, only $2,242 less than the record set during the fourth quarter of 2007, during the Great Recession.

CREDIT CARD DEBT HITS $1T FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the latest consumer-finance data available from TransUnion, the Federal Reserve and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, adjusted for inflation.

According to the data, the average household in California had nearly $10,000 in credit card debt during the second quarter. Overall, the Golden State had more than $152 billion in credit card debt during the second quarter.

CREDIT CARD DEBT RISING IN DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR THE ECONOMY

The average Texan household owed about $9,200 in credit card debt during the second quarter, while the total credit card debt in the state reached over $111 billion.

Florida, New York and Illinois rounded out the five states with the largest credit card debts with totals of over $87 billion, over $79 billion and more than $46 billion, respectively.

Comparatively, Wyoming, Vermont and North Dakota residents held the smallest card debt totals at about $2.09 billion, $2.2 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively.