The personal-finance website WalletHub today released its latest Credit Card Debt Study, which found that consumers racked up $67 billion in credit card debt during 2018, sending outstanding debt to an all-time record high. WalletHub also released its nationally representative 2019 Debt Survey, which highlights consumers’ feelings about over-borrowing, including the fact that 156 million Americans admit they’d go into debt for frivolous purchases.
The debt picture is worrisome nationwide, but some areas have bigger payment problems than others. WalletHub also compared the amounts owed to credit card companies by people in more than 2,500 U.S. cities – specifically, how those balances changed in 2018. You can find a handful of highlights from these reports below.| Cities with the Biggest Debt Increase | Cities with the Biggest Debt Paydown |
| Huntington Beach, CA | Tempe, AZ |
| Denton, TX | West Valley City, UT |
| Springfield, IL | Norman, OK |
| Murrieta, CA | High Point, NC |
| Wichita Falls, TX | New Bedford, MA |
| San Mateo, CA | Yakima, WA |
| Germantown, MD | Miami Beach, FL |
| Greenville, NC | Champaign, IL |
| Newport Beach, CA | Santa Fe, NM |
| Hoover, AL | Warwick, RI |
Please find expert commentary below (feel free to use as needed). Also, let me know if you would like to schedule an interview with one of WalletHub’s experts.
