Using a credit card to make a purchase in Tennessee can sometimes be a smart financial move. However, other times it can seriously hurt your finances, especially if you are using a credit card to make everyday purchases and have no means of paying off your balances. If you are carrying outstanding balances on your credit cards, it may be reassuring to hear that many other Americans are in the same boat. Here is a look at how much the average American owes in credit card debt.
According to the Motley Fool, the average American uses 30 percent of their available credit limits and owes $5,551 in credit card debt. They also hold an average of two credit cards. The average was found to differ geographically. The highest average was found to be in Alaska and was $7,552, while the lowest was Iowa with $4,410.
There were also found to be differences in balances across age groups. For instance, if you are part of the millennial generation, you likely carry less debt than those in older generations. However, you are more likely to use more of your available credit. Those of generation X and the baby boomer generations were found to carry higher balances but use a lower percent of their available credit.
However, these findings may be somewhat misleading as the average numbers took into account people who have no credit card debt at all. A separate study concluded that 38.1 percent of households carry all of the credit card debt in the country, meaning the average balance for those families is probably closer to $16,000.
