Debt.com Maps U.S. Credit Card Debt and Income Showing Where it is the Most Difficult to be Debt-Free

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Interactive map shows state-by-state who likely struggle to pay off debt.

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Oct 18, 2017, 07:45 ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Paying off credit card debt is a struggle for many Americans. The Debt.com team mapped out where the easiest and most difficult states are to pay down debt.

Debt.com's new interactive Credit Hell Map quantifies the nationwide struggle and identifies the states where borrowers are in the worst shape.

In the interactive map, Debt.com shows just how hard it is to get out of credit card debt when you’re making minimum payments. It can take more years than there are Friday the 13th and Saw movies combined. Now that’s scary!

"U.S. residents must come to terms with the frightening fact that the average household that use credit cards owes more than $16,000 on them. Since Halloween is coming-up we decided to look at which states were in 'credit hell' with the highest credit card debt relative to income," says Howard Dvorkin, CPA and Chairman of Debt.com.

To develop the map, Debt.com researchers took the credit card balances per capita by state from the Federal Reserve data and calculated the length of time to pay off the debts with total interest charges based on an average minimum payment schedule. Then they took U.S. Census Bureau data for median income by state to find the impact of devoting a full 15% of income towards credit card debt repayment. This allowed them to map where borrowers have the most leverage to pay off debt versus places where payment resources are the most limited.

The research reveals that Iowa and Nebraska stand out for having low debt relative to the median income. This suggests credit users in the Midwest are more financially stable and better at managing debt levels. On the other hand, borrowers in Florida and Georgia stand out for having high debt relative to their median income.

States with higher median income were also more likely to have higher average balances. For instance, credit users in Alaska have highest median income at $72,723, but they also have the highest credit card debt per capita. By contrast, borrowers in Mississippi have the lowest median earnings at $41,099, but also the lowest credit card debt per capita at $1,850.

About: Debt.com is the consumer website helping people with credit card debt, student loans, tax debt, credit repair, bankruptcy, debt collector harassment and more. Debt.com works with only vetted and certified providers that give the best advice and solutions for consumers 'when life happens'.

SOURCE Debt.com