Tennessee has the second-highest level of credit card debt
Tennessee has the second-highest level of credit card debt in the country, according to a study by TransUnion.
In the second quarter, the average credit card debt in Tennessee was $5,654 — second only to Alaska’s $7,148. The good news: Tennessee also ranked second in terms of the speed at which people are paying down those debts, with the average credit card debt down 15.5 percent from the first quarter.
“It appears that consumers have come to realize that material improvement in unemployment is unlikely in the short-term, and now is the time to balance saving versus spending,” Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy in TransUnion’s financial services business unit, said in a news release. “It remains to be seen whether this dynamic will be short term or a new paradigm for consumer behavior.”
Tennessee’s credit card delinquency rate — the percentage of customers more than 90 days late on a card — was 0.91 percent. The national delinquency rate was 0.92 percent, TransUnion reports.
Dan Hieb coordinates coverage for nashvillebusinessjournal.com, as well as for the Nashville Business Journal’s Open for Business and New to Nashville profiles. He can be reached at dhieb@bizjournals.com or 615-846-4278.
