A new study by Credible exposes where people are best (and worst) at managing their credit card bills, student loan debt, and housing costs.
On average, Americans included in this dataset paid $207 on their credit card debt, $370 on their student loans, and $906 on their housing each month, while taking home an average salary of $60,671.
But what’s the special sauce that makes some states’ residents so much better at debt management than others?
Well, it depends.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
1-in-5 borrowers is a homeowner
Mortgage debt can increase a resident’s debt-to-income ratio. The vast majority of the 540,000 borrowers included in this analysis are not homeowners. Just below 19% have one or more mortgages.
Of that group, the average housing payment increases to $1,705, nearly double the average housing payment for all borrowers, a group that includes renters, homeowners, and people living with parents.
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You are not your state
While this new ranking sheds light on how residents of various states perform in terms of debt management, keep in mind that these are average numbers — and that your debt is a personal matter.
No matter how your state ranks, find a debt payoff plan that fits your budget and lifestyle, as well as minimizes what you’ll owe in interest as you pay off each loan.
For example, balance transfer credit cards can be useful to begin paying off your credit card debt. These cards will often offer you six to 18 months of 0% APR for balance transfers, giving you some time to get your finances in order without accruing a ton of interest. If paying off credit card debt is one of your goals, Credible can help you find the best balance transfer credit cards of 2018.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
How we crunched the numbers
We used proprietary data from over 540,000 borrowers with student loan debt from all 50 U.S. states and D.C. to calculate average monthly credit card, student loan, and housing payments as a percentage of average monthly income. Therefore, the debt-to-income ratio we used to rank all states included credit card debt, student loan debt, and housing costs (such as rent or mortgage payments).
That percentage was then assigned a normalized score from 0-100 for each state, 0 being where debt payments are the highest percentage of monthly income, and 100 being where monthly payments are the lowest percentage of monthly income.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Are you managing your debt well?
How does your state rank in terms of debt management? Here are the 25 states where residents carry the most debt:
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25. Louisiana
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $157
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $284
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $706
Average Annual Income: $46,629
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.52%
Overall Score: 60.97
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
24. New Hampshire
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $209
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $418
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $926
Average Annual Income: $63,071
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.55%
Overall Score: 60.7
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
23. Arizona
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $197
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $340
340Average Monthly Housing Payment: $878
Average Annual Income: $57,412
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.58%
Overall Score: 60.44
Image Credit: Davel5957/istockphoto.
22. South Carolina
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $181
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $349
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $732
Average Annual Income: $51,115
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.63%
Overall Score: 59.97
Image Credit: SeanPavonePhoto.
21. Minnesota
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $241
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $371
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $899
Average Annual Income: $60,941
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.75%
Overall Score: 58.81
Image Credit: JoeChristensen.
20. Nebraska
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $213
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $364
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $808
Average Annual Income: $55,773
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.80%
Overall Score: 58.39
Image Credit: Getty.
19. Kansas
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $204
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $338
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $818
Average Annual Income: $54,677
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.85%
Overall Score: 57.94
Image Credit: Getty.
18. Tennessee
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $196
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $349
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $787
Average Annual Income: $53,464
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.90%
Overall Score: 57.49
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
17. Maryland
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $227
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $405
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,084
Average Annual Income: $68,819
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.92%
Overall Score: 57.26
Image Credit: depositphotos.com.
16. District of Columbia
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $160
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $574
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,355
Average Annual Income: $83.769
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.93%
Overall Score: 57.23
Image Credit: Sean Pavone/shutterstock.
15. California
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $208
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $372
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,198
Average Annual Income: $71,277
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 29.93%
Overall Score: 57.15
Image Credit: mlauffen.
14. South Dakota
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $201
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $351
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $771
Average Annual Income: $52,390
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 30.30%
Overall Score: 53.75
Image Credit: RiverNorthPhotography.
13. Idaho
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $207
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $356
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $858
Average Annual Income: $56,143
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 30.37%
Overall Score: 53.12
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
12. North Dakota
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $190
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $312
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $727
Average Annual Income: $48,351
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 30.50%
Overall Score: 51.93
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
11. Wyoming
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $195
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $308
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $894
Average Annual Income: $54,594
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 30.71%
Overall Score: 50.05
Image Credit: AnujSahaiPhotography.
10. Florida
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $208
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $330
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $893
Average Annual Income: $55,899
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 30.72%
Overall Score: 49.93
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
9. Maine
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $194
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $451
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $767
Average Annual Income: $55,047
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 30.78%
Overall Score: 49.37
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr.
8. Vermont
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $184
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $412
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $810
Average Annual Income: $54,377
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 31.03%
Overall Score: 47.1
Image Credit: ” DonLand”.
7. Alaska
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $216
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $443
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,018
Average Annual Income: $64,304
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 31.30%
Overall Score: 44.64
Image Credit: Chilkoot.
6. Virginia
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $216
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $369
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,031
Average Annual Income: $61,863
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 31.35%
Overall Score: 44.17
Image Credit: tmersh.
5. Montana
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $188
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $354
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $863
Average Annual Income: $52,587
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 32.06%
Overall Score: 37.61
Image Credit: YinYang.
4. Oregon
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $195
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $354
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $863
Average Annual Income: $52,587
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 32.06%
Overall Score: 37.61
Image Credit: HaizhanZheng.
3. Colorado
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $215
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $378
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,076
Average Annual Income: $62,161
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 32.22%
Overall Score: 36.15
Image Credit: ” Adventure_Photo.
2. Washington
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $221
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $385
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,096
Average Annual Income: $63,028
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 32.40%
Overall Score: 34.45
Image Credit: 4nadia.
1. Hawaii
Average Monthly Credit Card Payment: $238
Average Monthly Student Loan Payment: $385
Average Monthly Housing Payment: $1,091
Average Annual Income: $56,889
Monthly Debt-To-Income Ratio: 36.15%
Overall Score: 0
This article originally appeared on Credible.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Image Credit: Art Wager.
