Business & Economy

States with the most and least credit card debt

Written by:
Ben Wittstein
July 12, 2018
Canva

States with the most and least credit card debt

Credit card debt is a deep source of frustration for Americans. While the $1 trillion held in credit card debt pales in comparison to the $13 trillion held in mortgage debt, high interest rates and a month-to-month cycle of a lingering credit card balance is an ever-present worry for American consumers. A recent survey shows that Americans would go to great lengths to alleviate themselves of having to pay back their credit card companies, including a willingness to give up social media for a year, move to Antarctica, and even give up an internal organ in extreme cases.

While credit card debt is a national trend, breaking down credit card debt by state reveals a wide range of dependency on this short-term, but costly form of financing. Using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Stacker sought to analyze the states with the most and least credit card debt—looking at data from the fourth quarter of 2017, ranking by the per capita credit card debt while including information on the change year over year and the percentage that credit card debt makes up of total household debt within that state.

Read on to see how your state's credit card debt stacks up against the nation.

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#51. Mississippi

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,020 (+9.19% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.53%

 

#50. West Virginia

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,240 (+3.70% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.78%

 

#49. Kentucky

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,280 (+4.59% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.77%

 

#48. Arkansas

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,300 (+6.98% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.14%

 

#47. Alabama

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,370 (+8.22% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.57%

 

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#46. Louisiana

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,440 (+7.49% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.64%

 

#45. Iowa

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,450 (+4.70% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.29%

 

#44. Tennessee

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,480 (+5.08% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.22%

 

#43. Indiana

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,500 (+5.49% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.72%

 

#42. Oklahoma

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,550 (+9.44% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.52%

 

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#41. Michigan

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,610 (+5.24% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.93%

 

#40. Missouri

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,620 (+5.22% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.82%

 

#39. Wisconsin

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,630 (+3.95% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.72%

 

#38. New Mexico

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,650 (+3.92% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.85%

 

#37. Ohio

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,680 (+4.28% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.21%

 

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#36. South Carolina

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,680 (+7.20% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.35%

 

#35. Idaho

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,740 (+4.18% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.92%

 

#34. Maine

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,750 (+3% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.54%

 

#33. Kansas

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,780 (+6.51% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.45%

 

#32. South Dakota

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,780 (+4.91% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.76%

 

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#31. Nebraska

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,790 (+5.68% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.08%

 

#30. Montana

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,840 (+4.03% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.43%

 

#29. North Carolina

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,880 (+6.27% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.43%

 

#28. Utah

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,930 (+6.55% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.15%

 

#27. Oregon

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,940 (+5% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.55%

 

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#26. Wyoming

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,960 (+5.71% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.41%

 

#25. North Dakota

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,970 (+5.69% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.03%

 

#24. Vermont

2017 credit card debt per capita: $2,970 (+3.13% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.58%

 

#23. Pennsylvania

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,030 (+4.48% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.31%

 

#22. Georgia

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,130 (+8.30% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.7%

 

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#21. Illinois

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,130 (+5.39% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.85%

 

#20. Arizona

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,140 (+7.17% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.12%

 

#19. Texas

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,140 (+6.8% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.54%

 

#18. Minnesota

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,200 (+3.9% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.01%

 

#17. Nevada

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,210 (+7% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.38%

 

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#16. Rhode Island

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,240 (+4.18% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.63%

 

#15. Delaware

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,260 (+8.67% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.11%

 

#14. Florida

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,290 (+7.17% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.58%

 

#13. Washington

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,380 (+4.32% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.4%

 

#12. California

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,420 (+6.21% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 4.88%

 

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#11. New Hampshire

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,420 (+3.32% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.27%

 

#10. Massachusetts

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,490 (+4.49% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.53%

 

#9. Colorado

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,530 (+4.44% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.16%

 

#8. New York

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,710 (+5.4% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.57%

 

#7. Connecticut

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,730 (+5.37% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.34%

 

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#6. Virginia

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,760 (+5.32% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.78%

 

#5. Maryland

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,780 (+6.18% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.4%

 

#4. Hawaii

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,860 (+5.75% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 5.42%

 

#3. New Jersey

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,910 (+4.83% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 6.76%

 

#2. District of Columbia

2017 credit card debt per capita: $3,920 (+3.7% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 4.65%

 

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#1. Alaska

2017 credit card debt per capita: $4,270 (+3.89% from 2016)
Percent of total household debt: 7.38%

 

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