Residents in Bridgeport, Virginia Beach, Washington, D.C. and New York Most Likely to Have 5-Figure Credit Card Balances
CompareCards study finds about 1 in 6 credit card holders in America's biggest cities carry a balance of $10,000 or more
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- About 1 in 6 credit card holders in America's biggest cities carry a balance of $10,000 or more, according to a new report from CompareCards, and none of those cities has a higher percentage of these cardholders than Bridgeport, Conn.
CompareCards analyzed a representative sample of Americans to see which of the 100 largest metros have cardholders with five-figure credit card balances. The study found that most of the cities with the biggest percentages of people with five-figure credit card debt are clustered along the East Coast and West Coast, and it's often the wealthiest cities that carry the biggest card balances.
Key findings
- The five-figure credit debt capital of the U.S.: Nearly 23 percent of credit card holders in the Bridgeport metropolitan area owe more than $10,000 on their cards. Almost 2 percent of cardholders in Bridgeport owe more than $50,000, which is also the highest among the nation's 100 biggest metros. Virginia Beach; Washington, D.C.; and New York rounded out the top four, where 20.5 percent, 19.9 percent and 19 percent — respectively — of users have five-figure balances.
- The five-figure credit card debt state: Among the top 10 cities with the highest percentages of five-figure card debt, three were in California. Los Angeles ranked fifth at 18.6 percent, San Diego placed seventh at 18.5 percent and Oxnard came in at ninth at 18.1 percent. Connecticut was a close runner-up in the state contest, with Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven all ranking in the top 14.
- Five-figure card debts rarer in the South: Five of the seven cities with the lowest percentage of cardholders with five-figure card debt were in the South. Only 12.4 percent of cardholders in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Indianapolis had more than $10,000 in card balances. Greensboro, N.C.; Chattanooga; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Jackson, Miss. were among the other cities near the bottom of the list, all having less than 13 percent of cardholders with five-figure card debts.
Top 10 places with 5-figure credit card balances |
|||
Rank |
Metro |
% of Card Holders with a Balance |
% of Cardholders with a Balance |
1 |
Bridgeport, Conn. |
22.90% |
1.90% |
2 |
Virginia Beach, Va. |
20.50% |
0.60% |
3 |
Washington, D.C. |
19.90% |
1.10% |
4 |
New York |
19.00% |
1.00% |
5 |
Los Angeles |
18.60% |
0.90% |
6 |
Hartford, Conn. |
18.50% |
0.90% |
7 |
San Diego |
18.50% |
0.90% |
8 |
Albany, N.Y. |
18.30% |
0.70% |
9 |
Oxnard, Calif. |
18.10% |
1.10% |
10 |
Baltimore |
18.00% |
0.80% |
Bottom 10 places with 5-figure credit card balances |
|||
Rank |
Metro |
% of Card Holders with a Balance |
% of Cardholders with a Balance |
100 |
Winston-Salem, N.C. |
12.40% |
0.50% |
99 |
Indianapolis |
12.40% |
0.50% |
98 |
Greensboro, N.C. |
12.80% |
0.40% |
97 |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
12.80% |
0.30% |
96 |
Chattanooga, Tenn. |
12.80% |
0.50% |
95 |
Jackson, Miss. |
12.90% |
0.50% |
94 |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
12.90% |
0.40% |
93 |
Grand Rapids, Mich. |
13.00% |
0.40% |
92 |
Provo, Utah |
13.10% |
0.30% |
91 |
Birmingham, Ala. |
13.20% |
0.20% |
"When your credit card debt hits five figures, it's crushing, and it can consume your life. I know. I've been there," said Matt Schulz, Chief Industry Analyst at CompareCards. "But if you're struggling with credit card debt, the worst thing you can do is nothing. Yes, life is crazy expensive in 2019, but there are steps you can take to help yourself. For example, a zero-percent balance transfer card can give you a reprieve from interest for a year or more. Handled wisely, that can save you a ton of interest and really shorten your total payoff time."
To view the full report, visit www.comparecards.com/blog/places-people-5-figure-credit-card-balances.
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 shop for financial services the same way they would shop for airline tickets or hotel stays, comparing 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 refinances, credit cards and more. Through the My LendingTree platform, consumers receive free credit scores, credit monitoring and recommendations to improve credit health. My LendingTree proactively compares consumers' credit accounts against offers on our network, and notifies consumers when there is an opportunity to save money. In short, LendingTree's purpose is to help simplify financial decisions for life's meaningful moments through choice, education and support. 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.
About CompareCards:
CompareCards' mission is to help people make smarter, more informed, healthier financial decisions based on deeper knowledge of financial offers. Each month, over 2.9 million visitors come to CompareCards' website to independently compare credit cards side-by-side and choose a credit card based on interest rate, reward benefit, cost savings, and other factors that are important to each person. CompareCards provides easy-to-use, objective tools and educational resources that help people do everything from making credit card comparisons to managing their credit health. For more information, please visit www.comparecards.com.
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