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 Inc.’s monthly Consumer Credit Trends Report released this week. Some 54 million American households owe issuers more than $800 billion in card debt.
“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.”
California and Texas, the nation’s two most-populous state according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 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.
