MIAMI—With Americans owing more than $13,000 in auto loan debt per household and $1.6 trillion in total, a new analysis lists the U.S. cities in which residents are seeing the largest increases in auto loan debt.
The new report from WalletHub ranks the cities with the largest auto loan debt increases based on its proprietary data on consumer debt from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024.
According to the company, those cities include:
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Winston-Salem residents increased their average auto loan balance by nearly 6.8% between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, the largest increase in the country, WalletHub said, with the average auto loan balance in the city standing at $18,373 and the average monthly payment to $438.
“Unfortunately, people in Winston-Salem might not be very well-equipped to deal with this large increase in auto loan debt. The city has one of the highest debt delinquency rates in the country,” the WalletHub analysis stated.
“It also has a large share of people in financial distress, meaning they have been temporarily allowed to pause payments due to financial difficulty,” WalletHub said.
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Scottsdale ranks second, and it has the highest average auto loan balance and monthly payment in the country, at $25,749 and $641, respectively, according to WalletHub. Scottsdale residents also increased their average auto loan balance by 1.8% between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, the 10th-largest increase.
“In addition, Scottsdale ranks among the top cities when it comes to credit card debt increases,” the analysis states. “The good news, though, is that Scottsdale residents seem to be able to manage their high debt load for now. The city has one of the lowest debt delinquency rates in the country, and relatively few people in financial distress.”
Fremont, Calif.
WalletHub reported Fremont residents have the third-highest average monthly auto loan payment, at $559, and the fifth-highest average balance, at $22,733. Residents also increased their average auto loan balance by nearly 1.9% between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, the sixth-highest increase in the country.
“Fortunately, the increasingly high amount of auto loan debt in Fremont isn’t overly concerning,” WalletHub said. “The city’s residents are among the best in the country at money management for midsize cities, and Fremont is among the least needy cities in the country.”
Other cities in the top 10 include Chula Vista, Calif.; Miami; Glendale, Ariz.; Lubbock, Texas; Atlanta; Anchorage and Colorado Springs, Colo.
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