Published: Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Consumers paying down debt, says consumer credit advocate
Credit card debt fell 8 percent nationally since December to $6,069, according to U.S. Credit Score Climate Report, released by CreditKarma.com. Every state paid down its credit card debt in January with the exception of Wisconsin, which increased its credit card debt by 4 percent to $5,266.
"The reduction in debt is not surprising," said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com. "As with the start of any new year, consumers are vowing to get their finances in order and decrease debt after the glut of holiday spending."
Since last month, the average consumer credit score increased 1 point to 661 nationally, marking the first time since April 2011 that credit scores have increased.
In January 2012, the average consumer with an account had:
$168,101 in home mortgage debt, down 3 percent since December;
$46,330 in home equity debt, down 3 percent since December;
$15,112 in auto loans, down 2.5 percent since December;
$25,257 in student loan debt, down 4 percent since December.
Other key findings include:
•People tend to hold onto their student loan debt. It peaks at $27,000 for 25-44 year olds, but adults 65 and older with student loans still owe an average of $25,000.
Arkansas ($5,179), Nebraska ($5,738), Iowa ($5,866), South Dakota ($5,935) and West Virginia ($5,110) paid down their credit card debt the most by 18, 17, 16, 15 and 15 percent respectively.
Buying a house in Silicon Valley or San Francisco will cost you the most --the average mortgage holder owes $442,000 and $426,000, respectively. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the average West Virginian holds less than $100,000 of mortgage debt.
Wisconsin ($12,742), Oregon ($13,073), Minnesota ($13,160), Michigan ($13,268) and Rhode Island ($13,273) have the least amount of auto loan debt.
Methodology Each month, the CreditKarma.com U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. This month's report includes a comparison of more than 376,966 CreditKarma.com user scores.
"The reduction in debt is not surprising," said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com. "As with the start of any new year, consumers are vowing to get their finances in order and decrease debt after the glut of holiday spending."
Since last month, the average consumer credit score increased 1 point to 661 nationally, marking the first time since April 2011 that credit scores have increased.
In January 2012, the average consumer with an account had:
$168,101 in home mortgage debt, down 3 percent since December;
$46,330 in home equity debt, down 3 percent since December;
$15,112 in auto loans, down 2.5 percent since December;
$25,257 in student loan debt, down 4 percent since December.
Other key findings include:
•People tend to hold onto their student loan debt. It peaks at $27,000 for 25-44 year olds, but adults 65 and older with student loans still owe an average of $25,000.
Arkansas ($5,179), Nebraska ($5,738), Iowa ($5,866), South Dakota ($5,935) and West Virginia ($5,110) paid down their credit card debt the most by 18, 17, 16, 15 and 15 percent respectively.
Buying a house in Silicon Valley or San Francisco will cost you the most --the average mortgage holder owes $442,000 and $426,000, respectively. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the average West Virginian holds less than $100,000 of mortgage debt.
Wisconsin ($12,742), Oregon ($13,073), Minnesota ($13,160), Michigan ($13,268) and Rhode Island ($13,273) have the least amount of auto loan debt.
Methodology Each month, the CreditKarma.com U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. This month's report includes a comparison of more than 376,966 CreditKarma.com user scores.
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