The Best Places to Pay Down Debt in 2022

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree®, the nation's leading online loan marketplace, released its study finding the best places to pay down debt in 2022. The study found that North Carolina metro areas are the best places to pay down debt with three metros in the Southern state ranking among the top 10 and Raleigh ranking as the best place to pay down debt nationwide. Honolulu and New York City are the worst places in the country to pay down debt, respectively.

Key findings

• Raleigh, North Carolina is the best place to pay down debt. Raleigh has a 19.4% average credit utilization rate, a 3% unemployment rate, and an "A" debt protection score.
• North Carolina metros are the best places to pay down debt. The Southern state has three metros in the top 10: Raleigh (No. 1), Durham (No. 4) and Winston-Salem (No. 6). Charlotte (No. 15) is just outside the top 10.
• Six Midwest metros rank among the top 10 places to pay down debt: Omaha, NE (No. 3), Milwaukee, WI (No. 5), Madison, WI (No. 7), Indianapolis, IN (No. 8), Des Moines, IA (No. 9), and St. Louis, MO (No. 10).
• Honolulu is the worst place to pay down debt. Regional prices for goods and services in the capital of Hawaii's metro area are, on average, costlier than nearly all 100 of the largest metros.
• California is a tough place to live if you want to pay down debt. Five of the 10 worst places to pay down debt are in the Golden State: Riverside, Los Angeles, Stockton, Fresno and Bakersfield.

To view the full report, visit
https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/best-places-to-pay-down-debt/ 

Methodology

Researchers compared five metrics across the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas ("MSAs") in the United States.

• Average credit utilization rate — how much credit people are using compared to how much they have available. This was calculated from a December 2020 sample of more than 1 million anonymized credit reports of LendingTree users.
• Unemployment rate. October 2021 data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Median rent as a percentage of median household income — the median rent divided by median household income. Data is from the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, one-year estimates.
• Regional price parity — the price of goods in services compared to the national average. 2019 data is from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
• Debt protection scores — how states protect wages from debt collectors. 2019 data comes from the National Consumer Law Center. This is the only metric tracked at the state level rather than the metro level.

Each of these five metrics was given a value according to their relative location between the highest and lowest values. The values were then summed and divided by five for equal weight.

About LendingTree

LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is the nation's leading online marketplace that connects consumers with the choices they need to be confident in their financial decisions. LendingTree empowers consumers to make smarter financial decisions through choice, education and support. Consumers can compare multiple offers from a nationwide network of over 500 partners in one simple search, and can choose the option that best fits their financial needs. Services include mortgage loans, mortgage refinances, auto loans, personal loans, business loans, student loans, insurance, credit cards and more. Through the logged-in experience, consumers receive free credit scores, credit monitoring, recommendations to improve credit health, and notifications when the proprietary algorithm identifies a savings opportunity. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc. For more information, go to www.lendingtree.com, dial 800-555-TREE, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter @LendingTree.

SOURCE LendingTree