WalletHub: New Jersey ranks 7th among the states where consumer debt is increasing the most

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey ranks 7th among the states where consumer debt is increasing the most, according to a WalletHub study.

Americans owe more than $2.7 trillion on their auto loans and credit cards alone, and the personal-finance website WalletHub Wednesday released its report on the States Where Consumers Are Adding the Most Debt to show where people are having the toughest time.

WalletHub ranked the states where credit card, auto loan, and personal loan debt increased the most from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023 based on its proprietary data. This report comes on the heels of our recent analysis of the Household Debt Report.

New Jersey Stats

• Overall Rank: 7^th
• Credit card debt: The average credit card balance in New Jersey increased by 5.08% from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023, and reached $8,163.
• Auto loan debt: The average auto loan balance in New Jersey increased by 0.63% from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023, and reached $25,871.
• Personal loan debt: The average personal loan balance in New Jersey increased by 1.27% from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023, and reached $15,110.

For the full report, click here.

National Stats

• Year-End Debt: U.S. households ended 2023 with $38 billion more debt than they started with, which is actually an 89% improvement from the prior year.
• Household Average: The average household owed a total of $146,084 at the end of Q4 2023, only $12,216 below the peak.
• Total Debt to Deposits Ratio: The ratio between total household debt and deposits has rebounded lately after going down for years, but it is still below pre-Covid levels as well as roughly 46% below the peak from the early 2000s.
• Total Debt to Assets: The ratio between total household debt and assets has been increasing recently, reaching 10.3% in Q4 2023, but it’s still well below the record.

For the full report, click here.