It’s not sustainable, is the conclusion of WalletHub’s 2020’s Cities with the Least-Sustainable Credit Card Debt report, looking at Houston’s placement among the nation’s biggest metropolitan markets.
Analyst Jill Gonzales says Houstonians have a median credit card balance of $2,633, placing Houston in the 99th percentile of the nation. The median income is $40,561. For those consumers, it’s going to take an additional $1,046 in interest to pay off the balance, and at minimum monthly payments will take 53 months and 9 days to pay off.
In the U.S. consumers have racked up $21.5 billion in credit card debt from June through September. If it’s any consolation, says Gonzales, in Texas it could be worse. “Houston is actually doing better than Dallas, where we see the median credit card balance is even higher at around $3,000. Austin is also doing worse off at 59 months.”
The U.S. started 2019 with more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, and we’re expected to add another $80 billion this year. Outstanding debt in the U.S. is at an all-time record level for the third quarter of the year.