Americans owe a staggering amount of money on their credit cards. Total balances have reached $1.35 trillion, which means the average household is carrying more than $11,000 in revolving debt. Those balances are projected to grow by another $100 billion by the end of the year.
For anyone trying to manage a household budget, these numbers represent a growing monthly headwind.
Compounding interest makes credit cards an expensive way to borrow. When you carry a balance from month to month, your payments go toward interest charges rather than wiping out what you actually spent. If you have $15,000 or more in debt, National Debt Relief is one of the most respected providers of debt relief in the U.S.
But the financial reality varies widely depending on where you live. A recent WalletHub study analyzed credit card data from 182 U.S. cities to determine where balances are heaviest. Perhaps surprisingly, the places where households owe the most are not necessarily the places where people are experiencing severe financial distress.
20 cities with the most credit card debt
Santa Clarita, California, tops the list of cities with the highest credit card debt. The average household there carries $23,714, totaling nearly $1.8 billion across the city. California communities claim a significant portion of the highest-debt rankings, with seven of the top 10 spots. Cities like Chula Vista and Rancho Cucamonga follow closely behind with substantial average balances.
A large credit card balance does not automatically signal a community on the brink of financial ruin. In many cases, these high balances reflect significant household purchasing power. High-income areas often feature residents with large credit limits. These consumers use their cards to earn rewards or manage cash flow, and they have the financial capacity to clear large portions of their debt quickly.
According to WalletHub, cities like Santa Clarita, Chula Vista, and Pearl City combine large balances with high median incomes, high debt-payoff rates, and low delinquency rates. In fact, Santa Clarita ranked first among all surveyed cities for household debt repayment in the first quarter of 2026. Chula Vista residents paid off the eighth-most household debt during the same period.
Here are the 20 U.S. cities with the highest average household credit card balances:
- Santa Clarita, California: $23,714
- Chula Vista, California: $20,778
- Pearl City, Hawaii: $20,246
- New York, New York: $19,808
- Rancho Cucamonga, California: $19,619
- Gilbert, Arizona: $19,360
- Fontana, California: $19,316
- Oxnard, California: $19,277
- Moreno Valley, California: $19,127
- Santa Ana, California: $19,094
- Scottsdale, Arizona: $18,843
- Riverside, California: $18,662
- Henderson, Nevada: $18,534
- Pembroke Pines, Florida: $18,373
- Ontario, California: $18,346
- Chesapeake, Virginia: $18,241
- Glendale, California: $18,056
- Oceanside, California: $17,787
- North Las Vegas, Nevada: $17,704
- Virginia Beach, Virginia: $17,687
New York City stands as a notable exception. While it ranks fourth with an average balance of $19,808, its high figure is less clearly tied to the high incomes and low delinquency rates seen in the California cities ahead of it.
Lowest credit card debt
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the lowest credit card balances are concentrated in the Midwest, the Rust Belt, and parts of northern New England. Lewiston, Maine, has the lowest average household debt in the nation at $9,185 — less than 40% of the average household balance in Santa Clarita.
Here are the five cities with the lowest average household credit card balances:
- Lewiston, Maine: $9,185
- Madison, Wisconsin: $9,236
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa: $9,532
- Toledo, Ohio: $9,617
- Cleveland, Ohio: $10,045
These regions typically benefit from lower costs of living, which can reduce residents’ reliance on revolving credit. But just as high debt does not always mean failure, low debt does not guarantee financial stability. It can also reflect lower incomes or more limited access to credit.
Your city may not reflect your credit card debt
As always, means and medians may not reflect your personal situation. The real takeaway from this data is that a credit card balance cannot be judged in isolation. Your financial health depends on how that balance relates to your income.
A large balance that you pay off cleanly each month is manageable. A much smaller balance that you can only cover with minimum payments is the bigger hazard.
If your balance grows month after month, or your interest rate sits above 20%, that is the signal worth acting on. The goal is to pay down the principal faster than the interest can rebuild it. Getting a new 0% intro APR credit card could help ease the pressure if you have outstanding debt.
Putting windfall money, such as a tax refund, toward a high-interest balance effectively returns whatever rate that card charges — often more than you could reliably earn anywhere else. Clearing that monthly drag is one of the most dependable financial moves available to you.
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