Newark Among U.S. Cities With Least Credit Card Debt: Study

Newark, NJ – How well do Newark residents manage their credit card debt?

According to a nationwide report from CardHub, a credit information provider, Newark residents ranked among cities with the least “credit card debt” in the U.S.

The study analyzed the average credit-card balances of residents in 2,547 U.S. cities as of September 2015, based on TransUnion data.

The study then ranked each city based on two main factors: how many months will it take to pay back the debt, and the resulting finance charges the average cardholder will incur.

See the full methodology here.

According to the study, Newark residents:

• Have an average of $3,994 of credit card debt which will cost $979 to pay off
• Have median yearly earnings of $24,034
• Will spend about 38 months paying off their debt

If these numbers seem high, consider this. According to the study, Newark ranked among the top 29 percent of cities with the least credit card debt.

“According to CardHub’s estimates, Americans will have exceeded $900 billion in credit-card debt as of year-end 2015, the highest amount recorded since the economic downturn,” the study claims.

“Just as worrying as our debt levels, however, is consumers’ lack of touch with reality - or denial - about what they really owe. According to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the total amount of credit-card debt that U.S. consumers claim to have is 37 percent lower than the figure lenders have reported.”

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