Survey: Westerners carry the most credit card debt

ROCKVILLE, MD.
December 30, 2005 7:25am

The average American is now carrying $2,328 in credit card debt, according to an annual credit card survey conducted by Myvesta, a nonprofit consumer education organization.

Those who live in the West carry the most -- an average of $2,547. People in the Midwest are carrying the smallest balances with an average of $1,972 of credit card debt. Individuals in the South have an average of $2,465 on their cards and those in the Northeast carry an average balance of $2,199, according to Myvesta.

Nationally, the average amount of credit card debt carried by individuals has declined by 11.4 percent in a year’s time when November 2005 results are compared to November 2004.

Individuals also haven't added any new credit cards to their wallets in the past year. Americans still hold an average of 2.9 cards each, the same as in 2004.

"While it's great that many Americans have been able to reduce their overall credit card debt, let's hope we don't wake up to a holiday hangover when the credit card bills for this holiday season start arriving in January," says Steve Rhode, president of Myvesta, in a written comment. "If consumers used credit for their holiday purchases this year, they might erase any progress they have made toward paying down their debt."

Some other results from Myvesta's survey include:

• Males have an average of $2,369 of credit card debt spread out over 2.8 cards; females average $2,289 of credit card debt on 3.1 cards.

• Married individuals have an average of $2,625 of credit card debt; non-married individuals have an average of $1,744 of credit card debt.

The Myvesta survey was conducted Nov. 4-6 in a random telephone survey of 1,000 people.