Cities Adding the Most Credit Card Debt

Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial WriterMar 8, 2024

Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial Writer
Mar 8, 2024

Americans have racked up a ton of credit card debt – nearly $1.3 trillion, to be exact. Last year, we added around $108 billion to the total, so our mountain of debt keeps getting even higher. However, people in some cities are contributing to the debt buildup a lot more than others.

To determine the cities with the largest and smallest credit card debt increases, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities based on the latest consumer-finance data available from TransUnion.

“It’s hard to look at a number like $1.3 trillion in credit card debt and truly understand the impact it has on individual Americans. Comparing the residents of cities based on how much debt they’re adding at the household level and what their average balance is puts things in perspective. Many people’s debt is in danger of becoming unsustainable, which means their financial future is in jeopardy.”

John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor

Table of Contents

Main Findings

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Cities with the Biggest Credit Card Debt Increase

Rank*	City	Household Credit Card Debt	Household Credit Card Debt Increase/Decrease	Total Credit Card Debt	Total Credit Card Debt Increase/Decrease
1	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	$18,326	$3,360	$1,054,741,861	$193,386,109
2	Ontario, CA	$17,025	$3,069	$881,197,229	$158,865,652
3	Fontana, CA	$17,823	$2,888	$995,500,777	$161,313,828
4	Santa Clarita, CA	$21,808	$2,733	$1,599,883,359	$200,466,073
5	Santa Ana, CA	$18,436	$2,533	$1,429,769,950	$196,436,099
6	Chula Vista, CA	$20,146	$2,502	$1,673,624,942	$207,881,903
7	Oxnard, CA	$17,978	$2,384	$918,649,485	$121,817,959
8	Pearl City, HI	$19,235	$2,327	$288,282,370	$34,869,705
9	Riverside, CA	$18,027	$2,316	$1,632,130,332	$209,645,464
10	Las Vegas, NV	$15,203	$2,304	$3,655,635,192	$554,048,968
11	Peoria, AZ	$15,345	$2,256	$1,100,711,218	$161,800,654
12	Moreno Valley, CA	$16,773	$2,177	$905,025,894	$117,459,376
13	West Valley City, UT	$13,634	$2,167	$529,519,704	$84,181,052
14	Scottsdale, AZ	$17,593	$2,167	$2,037,731,251	$250,990,919
15	Bakersfield, CA	$14,596	$2,158	$1,820,752,781	$269,253,688
16	Yonkers, NY	$14,742	$2,109	$1,201,022,852	$171,796,631
17	Henderson, NV	$17,009	$2,103	$2,119,802,751	$262,120,855
18	North Las Vegas, NV	$15,700	$2,090	$1,306,063,576	$173,893,606
19	Anchorage, AK	$17,301	$2,041	$1,853,475,288	$218,711,696
20	Los Angeles, CA	$16,557	$1,955	$23,170,022,537	$2,735,514,397
21	Shreveport, LA	$12,516	$1,913	$941,002,092	$143,862,150
22	Fresno, CA	$13,821	$1,891	$2,456,763,645	$336,211,662
23	Anaheim, CA	$16,617	$1,874	$1,739,335,307	$196,187,930
24	Garland, TX	$13,749	$1,867	$1,096,780,924	$148,923,054
25	Port St. Lucie, FL	$15,648	$1,818	$1,172,969,067	$136,306,982
26	Nampa, ID	$12,265	$1,813	$438,967,895	$64,888,905
27	Vancouver, WA	$13,059	$1,805	$1,010,995,148	$139,760,304
28	Laredo, TX	$14,163	$1,790	$1,053,425,404	$133,118,066
29	Gilbert, AZ	$16,978	$1,783	$1,533,077,985	$161,043,151
30	Nashua, NH	$12,920	$1,776	$484,208,852	$66,550,422
31	Grand Prairie, TX	$14,252	$1,772	$936,912,270	$116,520,873
32	Virginia Beach, VA	$16,529	$1,772	$2,957,334,325	$317,053,687
33	Reno, NV	$14,400	$1,741	$1,590,949,508	$192,356,140
34	Providence, RI	$12,430	$1,726	$859,045,579	$119,304,966
35	New Orleans, LA	$15,271	$1,722	$2,377,233,514	$268,108,246
36	Huntington Beach, CA	$16,865	$1,720	$1,309,446,440	$133,577,752
37	Nashville, TN	$14,428	$1,665	$4,211,235,451	$486,023,663
38	Long Beach, CA	$15,219	$1,661	$2,589,816,601	$282,615,232
39	Raleigh, NC	$13,652	$1,654	$2,591,550,692	$314,027,567
40	Augusta, GA	$13,039	$1,636	$945,439,526	$118,647,443
41	Atlanta, GA	$15,810	$1,632	$3,595,028,434	$371,113,628
42	Durham, NC	$11,746	$1,611	$1,414,045,635	$194,000,026
43	Phoenix, AZ	$13,841	$1,608	$8,182,203,616	$950,879,222
44	El Paso, TX	$14,286	$1,606	$3,423,271,996	$384,769,506
45	Wilmington, DE	$12,070	$1,602	$382,019,407	$50,691,696
46	Brownsville, TX	$12,644	$1,567	$719,151,071	$89,114,469
47	Pembroke Pines, FL	$17,147	$1,565	$1,076,940,374	$98,280,075
48	Aurora, CO	$14,199	$1,560	$2,003,790,783	$220,107,535
49	Tacoma, WA	$13,428	$1,558	$1,198,170,161	$138,983,152
50	San Bernardino, CA	$14,211	$1,555	$887,963,101	$97,178,498
51	Colorado Springs, CO	$13,752	$1,547	$2,656,093,927	$298,860,266
52	Newport News, VA	$12,268	$1,545	$925,825,882	$116,572,205
53	Sacramento, CA	$13,227	$1,540	$2,599,400,770	$302,637,048
54	Stockton, CA	$14,190	$1,537	$1,376,073,181	$149,013,880
55	Fayetteville, NC	$12,934	$1,535	$1,045,762,631	$124,119,454
56	Honolulu, HI	$15,363	$1,512	$2,062,713,412	$202,977,292
57	Newark, NJ	$11,121	$1,510	$1,252,644,674	$170,059,484
58	Springfield, MO	$10,888	$1,484	$860,949,517	$117,347,877
59	Memphis, TN	$11,869	$1,477	$2,986,145,204	$371,604,612
60	Austin, TX	$15,128	$1,475	$6,400,501,853	$624,178,319
61	Miami, FL	$14,681	$1,462	$2,732,648,461	$272,122,310
62	Dallas, TX	$15,789	$1,456	$8,228,515,041	$758,806,152
63	Glendale, AZ	$13,490	$1,448	$1,151,782,635	$123,649,484
64	Mesa, AZ	$12,732	$1,444	$2,461,348,403	$279,063,100
65	Modesto, CA	$13,562	$1,432	$973,665,456	$102,789,180
66	Tallahassee, FL	$13,926	$1,417	$1,139,826,096	$115,944,395
67	Orlando, FL	$12,885	$1,416	$1,579,815,686	$173,559,547
68	San Francisco, CA	$14,984	$1,412	$5,406,973,332	$509,524,467
69	San Diego, CA	$15,718	$1,401	$8,102,445,120	$721,979,101
70	Cape Coral, FL	$14,890	$1,399	$1,144,762,134	$107,530,184
71	Columbia, SC	$14,730	$1,386	$739,806,091	$69,615,750
72	Oklahoma City, OK	$11,986	$1,385	$3,237,081,145	$374,146,424
73	Bridgeport, CT	$11,522	$1,375	$640,026,441	$76,403,293
74	Omaha, NE	$12,004	$1,369	$2,374,881,006	$270,839,291
75	Salem, OR	$12,417	$1,367	$823,031,549	$90,578,181
76	Greensboro, NC	$11,824	$1,366	$1,420,558,820	$164,150,002
77	Chicago, IL	$13,200	$1,365	$14,914,488,121	$1,541,995,588
78	Baltimore, MD	$12,261	$1,364	$3,031,320,590	$337,135,897
79	Jacksonville, FL	$13,848	$1,346	$5,204,895,712	$505,833,210
80	Charlotte, NC	$13,736	$1,332	$4,868,717,427	$472,191,592
81	Glendale, CA	$16,841	$1,328	$1,231,126,378	$97,054,830
82	Manchester, NH	$11,136	$1,316	$539,096,202	$63,723,224
83	Gulfport, MS	$12,734	$1,310	$358,300,227	$36,849,470
84	St. Paul, MN	$11,516	$1,304	$1,395,828,458	$158,092,412
85	Denver, CO	$13,295	$1,304	$4,293,721,126	$421,033,770
86	Columbia, MD	$14,987	$1,301	$615,631,928	$53,434,836
87	St. Petersburg, FL	$13,623	$1,299	$1,550,583,829	$147,836,281
88	Portland, OR	$12,725	$1,299	$3,612,672,567	$368,677,278
89	Dover, DE	$13,074	$1,278	$197,603,982	$19,321,646
90	Milwaukee, WI	$9,883	$1,268	$2,280,645,485	$292,683,947
91	Fort Smith, AR	$10,738	$1,252	$390,567,617	$45,550,419
92	Spokane, WA	$12,163	$1,245	$1,167,768,980	$119,548,220
93	Little Rock, AR	$12,875	$1,240	$1,111,911,427	$107,089,622
94	Tampa, FL	$13,936	$1,232	$2,188,931,221	$193,539,531
95	Kansas City, MO	$11,667	$1,232	$2,526,056,309	$266,772,976
96	Fort Lauderdale, FL	$15,995	$1,220	$1,280,068,194	$97,654,711
97	Overland Park, KS	$13,856	$1,204	$1,139,121,308	$99,010,065
98	Detroit, MI	$10,150	$1,203	$2,532,649,962	$300,144,662
99	Casper, WY	$11,562	$1,199	$290,169,348	$30,093,637
100	Billings, MT	$11,335	$1,197	$557,997,536	$58,936,262
101	Winston-Salem, NC	$11,639	$1,196	$1,149,331,900	$118,144,084
102	Charleston, SC	$14,279	$1,190	$930,964,427	$77,612,165
103	Minneapolis, MN	$11,453	$1,190	$2,126,564,629	$220,966,409
104	Oakland, CA	$13,905	$1,188	$2,367,790,001	$202,211,099
105	Chesapeake, VA	$17,185	$1,183	$1,570,179,938	$108,050,991
106	Rochester, NY	$10,296	$1,182	$940,165,694	$107,962,014
107	Baton Rouge, LA	$13,787	$1,178	$1,206,144,162	$103,062,285
108	Houston, TX	$13,758	$1,165	$12,347,725,544	$1,045,958,706
109	San Jose, CA	$15,418	$1,157	$5,008,262,374	$375,729,385
110	Salt Lake City, UT	$12,723	$1,130	$1,087,020,353	$96,524,925
111	Mobile, AL	$11,487	$1,129	$894,225,155	$87,869,259
112	Richmond, VA	$12,266	$1,125	$1,241,297,229	$113,867,475
113	Albuquerque, NM	$11,529	$1,116	$2,764,664,658	$267,525,158
114	Washington, DC	$13,923	$1,113	$4,396,757,193	$351,370,425
115	Rapid City, SD	$11,192	$1,091	$352,009,384	$34,329,162
116	San Antonio, TX	$14,153	$1,072	$7,682,505,175	$581,801,998
117	Des Moines, IA	$10,477	$1,071	$931,299,568	$95,216,357
118	Corpus Christi, TX	$13,889	$1,063	$1,632,727,248	$124,921,832
119	Jersey City, NJ	$11,614	$1,059	$1,385,301,270	$126,311,372
120	Oceanside, CA	$15,437	$1,058	$951,481,831	$65,236,700
121	Portland, ME	$10,707	$1,056	$345,336,563	$34,057,455
122	Toledo, OH	$9,376	$1,041	$1,102,791,949	$122,426,805
123	New York, NY	$19,212	$1,037	$63,069,492,571	$3,405,395,667
124	Norfolk, VA	$14,510	$1,031	$1,360,986,603	$96,698,296
125	Philadelphia, PA	$11,127	$1,027	$7,334,294,003	$677,049,229
126	Arlington, TX	$13,731	$1,026	$1,888,299,961	$141,085,829
127	Boise, ID	$11,915	$1,025	$1,165,574,334	$100,276,068
128	Boston, MA	$14,232	$1,024	$3,928,693,668	$282,746,141
129	Jackson, MS	$10,462	$1,024	$649,176,354	$63,541,198
130	Columbus, OH	$10,636	$1,016	$4,064,272,501	$388,202,995
131	Seattle, WA	$13,191	$1,010	$4,554,105,732	$348,733,815
132	Burlington, VT	$11,688	$994	$203,940,515	$17,334,926
133	Indianapolis, IN	$10,624	$986	$3,785,893,814	$351,223,904
134	Madison, WI	$9,434	$962	$1,136,824,405	$115,974,293
135	Irvine, CA	$15,814	$960	$1,746,931,244	$106,075,686
136	Lewiston, ME	$9,371	$958	$146,285,616	$14,950,483
137	Aurora, IL	$13,529	$946	$818,418,435	$57,250,051
138	Lubbock, TX	$12,966	$942	$1,334,095,535	$96,937,597
139	Cedar Rapids, IA	$10,260	$938	$598,010,286	$54,693,506
140	Akron, OH	$9,656	$919	$810,505,491	$77,174,322
141	Wichita, KS	$11,333	$893	$1,768,593,697	$139,306,066
142	Tulsa, OK	$12,391	$886	$2,103,761,584	$150,455,758
143	Tucson, AZ	$11,847	$874	$2,615,387,252	$192,882,650
144	Plano, TX	$16,926	$864	$1,818,692,163	$92,812,355
145	Worcester, MA	$11,366	$855	$897,664,022	$67,550,379
146	Missoula, MT	$11,238	$849	$370,214,947	$27,956,714
147	Amarillo, TX	$12,185	$832	$957,969,598	$65,431,209
148	Hialeah, FL	$13,642	$820	$1,040,292,432	$62,562,364
149	Pittsburgh, PA	$11,854	$818	$1,626,636,202	$112,292,593
150	Buffalo, NY	$10,377	$810	$1,233,852,135	$96,285,563
151	Louisville, KY	$10,877	$809	$2,839,973,285	$211,131,118
152	Tempe, AZ	$12,054	$804	$912,533,566	$60,877,174
153	Lexington-Fayette, KY	$11,488	$796	$1,563,514,224	$108,353,937
154	Chandler, AZ	$14,595	$792	$1,524,034,529	$82,730,182
155	Birmingham, AL	$12,154	$787	$1,033,071,410	$66,887,862
156	Huntsville, AL	$11,621	$782	$1,072,540,796	$72,162,781
157	Cleveland, OH	$9,435	$779	$1,583,406,912	$130,743,629
158	New Haven, CT	$10,529	$774	$557,813,602	$41,012,870
159	Lincoln, NE	$10,865	$774	$1,285,711,677	$91,560,077
160	Santa Rosa, CA	$13,614	$766	$927,068,296	$52,140,037
161	Garden Grove, CA	$15,550	$737	$749,260,462	$35,513,874
162	Cincinnati, OH	$10,643	$734	$1,501,049,036	$103,450,458
163	Fort Wayne, IN	$10,323	$727	$1,112,493,301	$78,361,209
164	Grand Rapids, MI	$10,409	$720	$822,421,360	$56,871,776
165	Chattanooga, TN	$11,330	$719	$872,621,307	$55,366,919
166	St. Louis, MO	$11,089	$714	$1,586,384,158	$102,112,577
167	Sioux Falls, SD	$11,333	$707	$903,805,372	$56,391,920
168	Fargo, ND	$10,602	$697	$603,175,748	$39,655,244
169	Warwick, RI	$12,034	$628	$434,946,460	$22,710,531
170	Fremont, CA	$13,408	$626	$1,005,567,685	$46,966,794
171	Cheyenne, WY	$12,122	$565	$343,113,735	$15,983,701
172	Knoxville, TN	$11,867	$558	$999,149,549	$46,945,263
173	Columbus, GA	$12,002	$554	$958,468,320	$44,245,573
174	Montgomery, AL	$11,866	$382	$943,191,036	$30,373,757
175	Las Cruces, NM	$11,452	$351	$518,759,109	$15,910,554
176	Rutland, VT	$9,656	$146	$73,094,137	$1,103,586
177	Irving, TX	$12,258	$22	$1,137,811,387	$2,060,453
178	Huntington, WV	$10,717	$17	$208,020,624	$334,141
179	Charleston, WV	$10,352	-$114	$225,112,232	-$2,474,172
180	Bismarck, ND	$10,696	-$248	$339,223,320	-$7,865,942
181	Juneau, AK	$15,712	-$462	$204,528,397	-$6,011,387

*1 = Biggest Household Credit Card Debt Increase

In-Depth Look at the Cities Adding the Most Credit Card Debt

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Rancho Cucamonga, CA, is the city adding the most credit card debt. Between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, the average household added $3,360 to its credit card debt, bringing their total balance to $18,326. Collectively, the city’s residents have $1.05 billion in credit card debt.

Despite this large amount of credit card debt, people in Rancho Cucamonga aren’t in too bad of a situation. The average credit score in the city is 683, which is in the fair credit range and pretty close to good credit (a score of 700+). This indicates that residents are responsible about making payments. In addition, people in Rancho Cucamonga have a median income of nearly $70,000, which makes a higher debt burden a little easier to manage.

Ontario, CA

Ontario, CA, added the second-most credit card debt between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, with the average household’s balance increasing by $3,069, which brought the household average to $17,025. Together, all of Ontario’s residents owe around $881.2 million on their credit cards.

Unfortunately, Ontario residents’ heavy credit card spending reflects in their credit scores. The average credit score in Ontario is 661, which is in the fair credit range but only 22 points above the top of the bad credit range. Residents’ low incomes may also make it more difficult for them to pay off their credit card debts, either. The median income is only a little over $49,000.

Fontana, CA

People in Fontana, CA, are adding the third-most credit card debt, and the average Fontana household’s balance increased by $2,888 between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023. That brought the average per household to $17,823, with the total credit card debt for the entire city reaching over $995.5 million.

The average credit score in Fontana is 666, which is in the middle of the fair credit range, slightly closer to bad credit than to good. Fontana residents have a median income of around $52,000 per year, which may make it harder for them to pay down debt relative to people in cities with lower incomes.

Methodology

To determine the cities with the biggest and smallest credit card debt, we analyzed the latest data on consumers’ finances from TransUnion.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of February 16, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau and TransUnion.

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