These Are CA's Most Debt-Ridden Communities

CALIFORNIA — Riverside is the most debt-ridden California metro, according to a recent report.

LendingTree released its list of the most debt-ridden U.S. metros, examining which major cities have the most non-mortgage debt.

According to the study, residents across the largest metros have an average of $37,827 in non-mortgage debt. Across the 50 metros, auto loan debt is the highest at an average of $12,437, ahead of student loans at $11,747, credit cards at $7,890 and personal loans at $3,703.

Riverside is the ninth-most debt-ridden metro in the country and the most debt-ridden metro in the Golden State, according to the report. A total of 97.1% of Riverside residents carry non-mortgage debt and owe an average of $41,752.

Austin, Texas, is the most debt-ridden metro, according to the report, with residents owing an average of $45,920 in non-mortgage debt. Conversely, San Jose, California, is the least debt-ridden metro, with residents owning an average of $26,704 in non-mortgage debt. San Jose residents also have the lowest average student loan debt at $5,033.

Two other California metro areas ranked among the top 30 on the list. Los Angeles ranked No. 22 with $38,378 in non-mortgage debt. San Diego ranked No. 29 with $36,303 in non-mortgage debt.

Sacramento landed at No. 36, San Francisco at No. 47 and San Jose at No. 50.

LendingTree researchers analyzed sample data of about 210,000 anonymized credit reports of LendingTree users from April, May and June 2024 to calculate average non-mortgage debt balances, which included auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans, and other types of debt, excluding mortgages.

View the full list on LendingTree.