U.S. consumers paid down $118 billion in credit card debt during the first half of 2020 – an all-time record. According to the personal finance website WalletHub.com, the reduction in credit card debt has been driven largely by generous unemployment benefits and stimulus checks and household austerity measures stemming from the pandemic. WalletHub projects that U.S. consumers will end the year with a slight reduction in credit card debt for the first time since the end of the Great Recession in 2009. The states where the typical consumer paid down the most debt over the past year are:
1. Alaska where the average consumer paid down $663 to an average credit card debt of $11,250
2. Hawaii where the average consumer paid down $647 to an average credit card debt of $10,987
3. Virginia where the average consumer paid down $565 to an average credit card debt of $9,589
4. California where the average consumer paid down $558 to an average of credit card debt of $9,472
5. Maryland where the average consumer paid down $552 to an average credit card debt of $9,368
6. Texas where the average consumer paid down $550 to an average credit card debt of $9,343
7. New Jersey where the average consumer paid down $532 to an average credit card debt of $9,034
8. Georgia where the average consumer paid down $527 to $8,952
9. Florida where the average consumer paid down $515 to an average credit card debt of $8,744
10. New York where the average consumer paid down $512 to an average credit card debt of $8,685
Source: WalletHub. Data for credit card debt at the end of the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. In Tennessee, the average consumer paid down $453 to an average credit card debt of $7,692 and in Alabama, the average consumer paid down $457 to an average credit card debt of $7,754.