WALNUT CREEK, Calif.–A new analysis using has determined the cost and time required to repay the median credit card balance in more than 2,500 U.S. cities, including the cities where residents have the most and least debt.
The findings, released as part of WalletHub’s Q3 2018 Credit Card Debt Study, are being released at the same time consumers racked up $16 billion in additional credit card debt during the third quarter of this year, sending outstanding debt to an all-time record level.
As a result, another Federal Reserve rate hike – which has a 70% chance of happening on Dec. 19 – would now cost credit card users an extra $1.56 billion in interest, according to WalletHub.
According to WalletHub’s report on the Cities with the Most & Least Credit Card Debt entering 2019, data drawn from TransUnion, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Census Bureau and WalletHub’s proprietary credit card payoff calculator to determine the cost and time required to repay the median credit card balance in more than 2,500 U.S. cities.
The Findings
Among the findings:
- Forest Park, Ga., has the lowest median credit card debt, at $917 – 8.7 times lower than Darien, Conn., which has the highest median credit card debt ($7,935).
- Carmel, Ind. has the shortest debt payoff timeline, at two months and one day – 12.2 times shorter than Colleyville, Texas, whose 24 months and 28 days timeline is the nation’s longest.