U.S. states with the greatest amount of outstanding consumer credit card debt roughly parallel those with the most population, but a few states buck that trend, according to new data Equifax Inc. released Jan. 24.
Some 54 million American households owe issuers more than $800 billion in card debt, according to Equifax’s monthly Equifax Consumer Credit Trends Report.
California and Texas, the nation’s two most-populous state according to the U.S. Census Bureau, also lead the nation in consumer card debt with $90.6 billion and $48.8 billion in total outstandings respectively, according to the Atlanta-based credit bureau.
Florida, No. 4 in population, ranks third in overall card debt at $47.6 billion, while Ohio, ranked seventh in population, ranks fifth in card debt at $28.9 billion.
New Jersey, 11th nationwide in population, ranks eighth in total consumer credit card debt, at $23.8 billion, while North Carolina, 10th in population, is ninth in total credit card debt at $22.4 billion.
Total consumer debt, including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and personal loans, in November declined to $10.6 trillion from its peak of $11.5 trillion in October 2008, according to Equifax.
“The good news is we’re seeing Americans paying off their debts and becoming more fiscally fit,” Dianne Bernez, Equifax senior vice president, said in a press release. “However, the numbers show that while people’s intentions are good, Americans still have a lot of debt to tackle and often don’t know where to start.”
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