According to a recent study, Texas was found to have accumulated the 16th highest credit card debt among states in the nation.
In its report, titled "2023's States with the Highest & Lowest Credit-Card Debts," personal finance website WalletHub analyzed and compared the respective credit card debts of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
WalletHub determined the rankings by looking at each state's median credit card balance and monthly credit card payments, then calculating those figures to determine the number of months it would take to completely pay off the credit card debt.
According to the study, residents of the Lone Star State racked up a median credit card balance of $2,966, with an average monthly payment cost equaling to $352. Based on its findings, WalletHub determined that it would take an average resident in Texas 13 months and 14 days to fully pay off their credit cards, which was the 16th most in the whole country.
The U.S. states that have the largest credit card debt issues, according to the study, were Alaska (Most in-debt, average payoff time of 17 months and 14 days), the District of Columbia (second-highest, 15 months and 7 days), Colorado (third, 15 months and 4 days), New Hampshire (fourth, 14 months and 13 days) and Vermont (fifth, 14 months and 12 days).
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the study discovered that the five states with the least amount of credit card debt were West Virginia (lowest, average payoff time of 11 months and 3 days), Mississippi (second-lowest, 11 months and 8 days), Kentucky (third-lowest, 11 months and 13 days), Pennsylvania (fourth-lowest, 11 months and 15 days) and Iowa (fifth-lowest, 11 months and 21 days).
Along with conducting the study, WalletHub also asked several experts about what steps people can take to become free from the clutches of debt.
"First, look at your income and create a budget. Know what you must spend on basic maintenance. If basic maintenance (rent, food, transportation) is paid by credit card and not paid off each month, basic budgeting should be undertaken," said Karen C. Holden, an emeritus professor for the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.
To put its study together, WalletHub gathered data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Reserve and TransUnion. To view the study in full, visit the WalletHub website.
