Here are the cities with the least sustainable credit card debts
FILE-A person holds Capital One and Discover credit cards. (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Credit card debt is a major financial burden that causes stress for millions of Americans affected by it.
WalletHub released a report examining cities with the least and most sustainable credit card debts by examining the median credit card balances of people in 182 cities in the U.S. as of October 2024, based on Transunion Data.
According to WalletHub, the average U.S. household owes more than $10,700 in credit card debt, up 3% from 2023.
RELATED: Americans are feeling more anxious about their credit card debt, survey finds
The personal finance website uses a credit card payoff calculator and the median credit card balance and income of residents in every city. Researchers also factor in the required number of months to pay off a credit card balance and finance charges.
And the cities were then ranked based on the payoff calculator’s results. Data to create the rankings used information from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Reserve and TransUnion.
Top cities with the least sustainable credit card debt
- Port St. Lucie, Florida
- El Paso, Texas
- Gulfport, Mississippi
- North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Miami
- Dallas
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Brownsville, Texas
- San Antonio, Texas
- Birmingham, Alabama
- New Orleans
- Pembroke Pines, Florida
- Reno, Nevada
- Augusta, Georgia
- Cape Coral, Florida
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Tucson, Arizona
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Springfield, Missouri
A breakdown of the cities with least sustainable credit card debt
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie ranks first as the city with the least sustainable credit card debt with the study noting that it will take residents with debt an average of over eight years to pay off what they owe.
WalletHub explains in the report that Port St. Lucie's long credit card payoff timeline includes the city’s high median credit card debt ($3,426) coupled with the low median earnings for workers ($48,043).
According to the report, residents will likely pay an average of nearly $4,000 in interest when they become debt-free. The city also ranks near the bottom compared to other U.S. cities for money-management and budgeting skills.
El Paso, Texas
It would take residents in El Paso, Texas an average of eight years to pay off the typical balance. The median credit card debt is $3,046 and the cost of the interest over the span of eight years is even more than the original balance at $3,314.
The study reports that El Paso is one of multiple cities where residents have over three credit cards. Separately, the city has the 14th-lowest median earnings in the U.S. at $43,377 annually.
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi has credit card debts with a median balance of $2,897 and a payoff window of almost eight years. People in the area take a longer time to pay off their credit card debts due to their median earnings being exceptionally low at only $41,611 annually, representing the seventh lowest among 182 cities in the U.S.
According to WalletHub, residents make small monthly credit card payments, averaging only $63, meaning that they will pay $3,116 in interest on their credit card debt before it’s completely paid off.
To see the full list and where your city ranks, click here.
In a separate study released in October, the total credit card balance for Americans was $1.14 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, according to consumer debt data from the New York Fed – which is the highest balance since it began tracking in 1999.
The national average credit card debt among Americans with unpaid balances in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $6,864, down from $6,993 in the third quarter, according to data published this month by Lending Tree. The stats include debt from bank cards and retail credit cards.
According to Lending Tree, the five states with the highest debt were all in the eastern U.S., and the four with the lowest were in the South.