How Sustainable Is Credit Card Debt in St. Clair Shores?

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ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI – American consumers racked up an estimated $630.5 billion in debt, most of it on credit cards, during the recent holiday shopping season, according to a new study.

CardHub estimates Americans exceeded $900 billion in credit card debt by the end of 2015, the highest amount recorded since the economic downtown.

Bloomfield Hills tied for 16th place in the ranking with the most sustainable credit-card debt. Residents carry an average of $8,336 on their plastic, but the analysis shows they’ll pay it off in 21 months.

The analysis used data from TransUnion, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Census Bureau, then used CardHub’s proprietary credit card payoff calculator to determine the number of months required to pay off the average credit-card balances and associated finance costs in 2,547 U.S. cities.

The data isn’t foolproof. According to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the total amount of credit-card debt that U.S. consumers claim to have is 37 percent lower than the figure lenders have reported, CardHub said, adding:

“Without an accurate knowledge of our balances, it’s impossible to create a realistic credit-card payoff plan. In addition, location plays a central role in how well consumers manage their credit-card debts — and how high they rise — depending on factors such as income and financial literacy.”

Some other cities on the list, the average credit-card debt and average time to retire it include:

• Novi, $5,737 — average payoff time, 24 months
• Troy, $5,614 — average payoff time, 26 months
• Royal Oak, $5,413 — average payoff time, 27 months
• Farmington Hills, $5,856 — average payoff time, 29 months
• Ferndale, $4,493 — average payoff time, 29 months
• Birmingham, $8,742 — average payoff time, 31 months
• Rochester Hills, $6,121 — average payoff time, 31 months
• Northville, $6,812 — average payoff time, 32 months
• Plymouth, $6,324 — average payoff time, 32 months
• St. Clair Shores, $5,089 — average payoff time, 33 months
• Wyandotte, $4,945 — average payoff time, 33 months
• Rochester, $7,570 — average payoff time, 38 months
• Dearborn, $4,920 — average payoff time, 41 months
• Brighton, $6,668 — average payoff time, 42 months
• Dearborn Heights, $5,073 — average payoff time, 42 months
• Fenton, $6,073 — average payoff time, 72 months

To learn more, view the full report.

» Photo by NapInterrupted via Flickr / Creative Commons