#1 Purchase Most Texans Put On Their Credit Cards
As the saying goes, "Everything's bigger in Texas" right? However, our credit card debt is not the case. According to the information released by the World Population Review, Upgraded Points Credit Company, and Forges Magazine, we Texans are pretty savvy with our money.
Texans put far less debt on their credit cards, plus the Lone Star State has the least debt in the U.S. When it comes to making purchases on a credit card Texans tend to buy jewelry and with that, we tend to keep our charge balances low.
As you will see in the graph numbers below, Texans may be purchasing jewelry on credit cards however, we tend to keep our purchases low, as Texas ranked 9th overall in the lowest credit card debt ranking with an average of $1701.87 charged balance. While Massachusetts had an average of $10,810.99 and Connecticut had an average $10,728.90 charged balance.
Furthermore, Lone Star residents tend to pay off their credit cards faster. As for the state with the lowest credit card debt average, it's Tennessee with only $872.38 charged on their credit cards.
These latest findings are compiled from Forbes, World Population Review, and Upgraded Points Credit Company and are a state-by-state debt review.
States with the Least Debt
- Texas has the lowest debt of any state in the U.S. Alaska's total liabilities add up to $222.64 billion, and its total assets add up to $356.01 billion, giving Texas the highest net position in the country of $115.08 billion. Texas's debt ratio is 62.5%
- Florida debt is the second-lowest in the country. With total liabilities coming out to $66.78 billion and total assets coming out to $163.24 billion, Florida's net position is $97.6 billion. This means that Florida's debt ratio is 40.9%. While Floridas debt has decreased in recent years, it is expected to increase over the next two years.
- Alaska has the third-lowest debt and the third-highest net position of $76.74 billion. Alaska's total liabilities add up to $12.65 billion, and its total assets add up to $89.17 billion. Although Alaska does not have a state income tax, its revenue is well-supplied by taxes on oil and gas production.
- North Carolina's net position is $54.41 billion, making it the fourth-highest net position in the U.S. North Carolina's assets are $78.67 billion higher. Its total liabilities are $23.62 billion, giving a debt ratio of 30%.
- Tennessee has the fifth-lowest debt in the U.S., having $8.04 billion in total liabilities and $46.54 billion in total assets, resulting in a net position of $39.3 billion and a debt ratio of 17.3%. Tennessee is one of the most tax-friendly states in the country and will have no state income tax by 2021. While remaining low-debt and low-tax, Tennessee has managed to triple its Rainy Day Fund and provide tax cuts to its residents, including a 30% decrease in-state sales tax on groceries.
Here are the 10 states with the highest credit card debt per capita:
- Massachusetts ($10,810.99)
- Connecticut ($10,728.90)
- Rhode Island ($8,073.80)
- Alaska ($8,023.75)
- New Jersey ($7,016.53)
- New York ($6,836.68)
- Hawaii ($6,549.89)
- New Hampshire ($5,568.99)
- Vermont ($5,417.97)
- Illinois ($4,826.44)
Source: Forbes.com
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Gallery Credit: Bethany Adams