States with the Most Credit Cards

The average American has more than five open credit cards, according to WalletHub’s data. Exactly how many cards are manageable varies from person to person and state to state according to their spending habits, though. Having multiple cards in your wallet can help you boost your credit score if you use them responsibly, but they can also lead to the temptation to overspend.

To determine the states where credit card ownership is increasing the most, WalletHub analyzed our latest consumer-finance data across four key metrics. These metrics measured the average number of cards owned per person and average number of new cards opened per person in Q3 2025, as well as the percent change in both of those numbers from Q3 2024.

“Having multiple credit cards in your wallet can be good for your credit score as long as you spend responsibly, keep your credit utilization low and always pay on time. For example, you can use different credit cards for different purposes, such as separating charges you want to finance from everyday purchases. But if you regularly miss payments or spend beyond your means, you may have too many credit cards.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

States with the Most Credit Cards

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

In-Depth Look at the States with the Most Credit Cards

New Hampshire

New Hampshire ranks first, in part because its residents opened an average of 1.4 cards during Q3 2025, more than people in any other state. New Hampshirites also opened 16.9% more new credit cards in Q3 2025 than they did in Q3 2024 - the highest increase. In comparison, residents in only three states saw a year-over-year decrease. In addition, the average New Hampshirite owns 5.6 credit cards.

The big question is whether New Hampshirites are using their new cards primarily for credit building, rewards and responsible financing or to spend beyond their means. At first glance, it may seem like the latter, since New Hampshire residents have the 15th-highest median credit card debt overall. However, New Hampshire falls in the mid-range when it comes to residents who are in financial distress, and its residents have good credit, on average. Therefore, it seems like they can handle the large number of cards, for the moment at least.

Mississippi

Mississippi ranks second overall, as the residents opened 9.2% more credit cards in Q3 2025 than in the same quarter of 2024. In addition, Mississippians expanded their existing credit portfolios more rapidly than any other state during the past year, with the average number of cards per person rising by 4.3%. There are no signs of slowing down, either – residents added an average of 1.3 cards to their wallets during Q3 2025, the seventh-most in the country.

The good news is that Mississippi residents have below-average amounts of credit card debt and are also increasing their debt at a slower rate than most states. As a result, opening new credit cards is more likely to help Mississippians than hurt them, as it lowers their credit utilization seemingly without tempting them to spend more.

Connecticut

Connecticut residents opened 1.3 new credit cards in Q3 2025, the second-highest rate in the country. The average number of new cards opened increased by 8.6% compared with Q3 2024, ranking sixth nationally. The average Connecticuter also owns 5.6 credit cards, the seventh-highest in the country. However, growth in the total number of cards owned year-over-year was modest at 2.5% ranking 26th across the country.

Given that Connecticuters have a high number of credit cards, it’s unsurprising that they also have 10th-highest household credit card debt levels in the country. Connecticut is also in the top 10 states where people are increasing that debt the fastest.

Methodology

In order to determine the states with the most credit cards, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions: 1) Number of Credit Cards and 2) Increase in Number of Credit Cards.

We evaluated those dimensions using 4 relevant metrics listed below with their corresponding weights, each metric being graded on a 100-point scale.

Finally, we determined each state's weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Number of Credit Cards – Total Points: 50

• Average Credit Cards Opened in Q3 2025: Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
• Average Credit Cards Owned in Q3 2025: Full Weight (~25.00 Points)

Increase in Number of Credit Cards - Total Points: 50

• % Change in Average New Credit Cards Opened (Q3 2025 vs. Q3 2024): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
• % Change in Average Credit Cards Owned (Q3 2025 vs. Q3 2024): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of November 19, 2025 from WalletHub database.

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