Floridians Carry 5th Highest Debt Load In Country: Study

BRADENTON, FL — Floridians and credit cards seem to go together like sunshine and beaches. That’s according to a new report that shows Florida residents have some of the worst credit card debt in the country.

Florida ranked fifth-worst in the country, according to the study released by CreditCards.com. The report compared average credit card debt with median income in each state to arrive at its rankings.

Even if they paid 15 percent of their monthly earnings, it would take Florida credit card holders 18 months to pay off their credit card debt, the study showed. At that rate, they'd pay $678 in interest.

Fifteen percent of gross monthly earnings for the average Floridian would be about $355. Paying less than that on credit card debt would mean taking longer to clear the debt and paying even more in interest. The average debt in the Sunshine State is a whopping $39,656, the study showed. The 90-day-plus delinquency rate in the state is about 38 percent.

States that ranked worst than Florida were Texas (4), Georgia (3), New Mexico (2) and Alaska in first.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota had the lowest credit card debt burdens, the study found.

"It's very hard to get out of debt if you're already stretching every dollar to pay for food, housing and other essentials," said Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com's senior industry analyst.

For people struggling with credit card debt, Shulz recommends looking into a zero-percent balance transfer card. Such cards offer interest-free periods lasting as long as 21 months, he said.

He also advises dedicating as much extra money as possible to clearing credit card debt — "certainly much more than the minimum that's due each month."

With reporting by Patch's Doug Gross

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