The personal-finance website WalletHub today released its latest Credit Card Debt Study, which found that consumers racked up $77 billion in credit card debt during 2019, sending outstanding debt to an all-time record high. WalletHub also released its nationally representative 2020 Debt Survey, which highlights consumers’ feelings about over-borrowing, including the fact that 95 million Americans admit they’d go into debt for frivolous purchases.
The debt picture is worrisome nationwide, and the concerns are certainly compounded by the spread of the coronavirus. Some areas have bigger payment problems than others, though. WalletHub compared the amounts owed to credit card companies by people in more than 2,500 U.S. cities – specifically, how those balances changed in 2019. You can find a handful of highlights from these reports below.
Cities with the Biggest Debt Increase
- La Mirada, CA
- Texas City, TX
- West Lafayette, IN
- Beverly, MA
- Waipahu, HI
- Martinez, CA
- Florence, SC
- Menlo Park, CA
- Uniondale, NY
- Port Chester, NY
Cities with the Biggest Debt Paydown
- Dix Hills, NY
- Encinitas, CA
- McLean, VA
- Coppell, TX
- Moorpark, CA
- Dana Point, CA
- Nacogdoches, TX
- Statesboro, GA
- American Fork, UT
- Drexel Hill, PA
Key Findings:
- Expect a debt-driven 2020. WalletHub projects that consumers will rack up another $85 billion in credit card debt during 2020 and approach $1.16 trillion in balances owed by year’s end.
- Money problems make us moody. More than 4 in 10 people (44%) say credit card debt makes them feel stressed. Roughly 11% of people say credit card debt leads to feelings of depression.
- Recession fears vary by political party. 2X more Democrats than Republicans think another recession will happen within one year.
- The bill will come due for millennials. Young people are 27% more likely to go into credit card debt for frivolous purchases than people over the age of 59.
- Millions would bare-all before exposing their finances. Women are 48% less likely than men to be embarrassed by people seeing how much credit card debt they have.
- Balance transfer offers are still attractive. The best balance transfer credit cards currently offer 0% APRs for the first 15-21 months with no annual fee and balance transfer fees as low as zero. Such deals likely will not be around for too much longer.
- Desperate times breed desperate measures. More than one-third of people (37%) say they would do anything to get out of credit card debt. Millennials are 3X more likely than baby boomers to agree to house arrest for a year in exchange for credit card debt freedom.
