Iowans cautious with credit-card debt
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Apr 12, 2008 | 12:00 pm [wp-word-count-reading-time after="min read time"] [wp-word-count after="words"]Archive
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Iowa has the lowest level of credit card debt among the 50 states, according to the latest quarterly analysis by TransUnion.com. The average card user in Iowa carried a balance of $1,272 in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with a U.S. figure of $1,694. Central Iowa figures were higher, but still less than the national average.
Average credit card balances
United States |
$1,694 |
Des Moines |
$1,544 |
Dallas County |
$1,612 |
Polk County |
$1,545 |
90-day credit card delinquency rate
United States |
1.36% |
Iowa |
1.12% |
Dallas County |
0.89% |
Polk County |
1.42% |
Iowa ranked 39th in its payment delinquency rate. Dallas County’s rate was well under the national average; Polk County had a delinquency rate above the national level.
Nationally, Alaska had the highest average card debt at $2,342, followed by Tennessee at $2,046 and Alabama at $1,996. Credit card loan delinquencies were highest in Nevada at 1.95 percent, followed by Mississippi at 1.89 percent. The Midwest in general showed low levels of late payments.
The steepest increases in credit card debt compared with the previous quarter tracked the areas suffering most from housing foreclosures: Florida, Nevada and California.