Average consumer credit card debt in October fell 11%, to $6,600, from a year earlier but rose 1% from the previous month, according to Credit Karma’s latest U.S. Credit Score Climate report.
The average credit score nationally dropped to 661 in October, down five points from October 2010 and down two points from a month earlier, the company said.
“As we head into the holiday season, credit card debt is likely to rise,” Ken Lin, CEO at CreditKarma.com, said in a press release. “Consumers need to be aware of the correlation between debt and their credit score. Credit card utilization is a major factor in determining a person’s credit score, so carrying a large balance can cause it to decrease.”
The states with the highest average credit scores were California, 680; Massachusetts, 679; New Jersey, 679; and Minnesota, 675. The lowest average scores were found in Mississippi, 622; Arkansas, 634; Alabama, 636; and Louisiana, 637.
Thirty-two states increased their average credit card debt by 1% or more in October from September. States with the largest increases were Alaska, up 10% to $8,356; Hawaii, up 6% to $7,497; Minnesota and Rhode Island, up 5% to $6,407 and $6,603 respectively; and Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Utah, up 4% to $6,799, $6,438 and $5,978 respectively.
Each month, the CreditKarma.com U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days before the stated month. This month's report includes a comparison of more than 299,697 CreditKarma.com user scores.
