Californians are racking up the most credit card debt, according to recent data from personal finance website WalletHub.
Currently, consumers across the nation hold $1 trillion in credit card debt.
In 2022 alone, $116 billion in new credit card debt was added as inflation continued to weigh on household budgets. In the second quarter of 2023, consumers added almost $43 billion, which marks the second-largest increase during that period to date, according to WalletHub.
For the average household, credit card balances sat at about $10,170 at the end of the second quarter, only $2,242 less than the record set during the fourth quarter of 2007, during the Great Recession.
CREDIT CARD DEBT HITS $1T FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the latest consumer-finance data available from TransUnion, the Federal Reserve and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, adjusted for inflation.
According to the data, the average household in California had nearly $10,000 in credit card debt during the second quarter. Overall, the Golden State had more than $152 billion in credit card debt during the second quarter.
CREDIT CARD DEBT RISING IN DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR THE ECONOMY
The average Texan household owed about $9,200 in credit card debt during the second quarter, while the total credit card debt in the state reached over $111 billion.
Florida, New York and Illinois rounded out the five states with the largest credit card debts with totals of over $87 billion, over $79 billion and more than $46 billion, respectively.
Comparatively, Wyoming, Vermont and North Dakota residents held the smallest card debt totals at about $2.09 billion, $2.2 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively.
