UNDATED – With Americans having increased their collective credit card debt by a record $179.4 billion last year, and the grand total at over $1.1 trillion, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Highest & Lowest Credit Card Debts, as well as expert commentary.
We drew upon data 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 each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
South Dakota ranked in the middle in the pack at 24th. The median credit card debt in South Dakota is $2,338 and the cost to pay off was -$273.
Below, you can find a handful of highlights from the report.
| Least-Sustainable Credit Card Debt | Most-Sustainable Credit Card Debt |
| 1. Alaska | 42. North Carolina |
| 2. District of Columbia | 43. Hawaii |
| 3. Colorado | 44. Indiana |
| 4. New Hampshire | 45. Arkansas |
| 5. Vermont | 46. Ohio |
| 6. Washington | 47. Iowa |
| 7. Oregon | 48. Pennsylvania |
| 8. Wyoming | 49. Kentucky |
| 9. Virginia | 50. Mississippi |
| 10. Arizona | 51. West Virginia |
Key Stats
- Iowa has the lowest median credit-card debt, $2,077, which is 1.7 times lower than in Alaska, the state with the highest at $3,517.
- The District of Columbia has the highest median income, $86,225, which is 2.1 times higher than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest at $41,963.
- West Virginia has the shortest payoff timeline, 11 months, which is 1.5 times shorter than in Alaska, the state with the longest at 17 months.
