The Amount Of Credit Card Debt Americans Have Paid Off In 2021 Is Mind-Blowing

Written by Chris Illuminati on June 18, 2021

Credit card debt is an issue millions of Americans struggle with every year.

While the country slowly digs itself out from the pandemic, more and more Americans are slowly digging themselves out of debt.

According to a new study by the financial website WalletHub, U.S. consumers have paid off $56.5 billion in credit card debt so far in 2021.

This comes after a record-setting year for credit card debt reduction in 2020 with Americans paying off $82.1 billion in debt.

This trend is amazing considering Americans added an average of $45.6 billion in credit card debt every year over the past 10 years but with the pandemic closing down most of the country for months, people weren’t going on as many vacations, eating out as much, or spending as lavishly as in years past.

Although debt levels are becoming more manageable nationwide, some areas have bigger payment problems than others.

With that in mind, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest cities based on how much residents owe to credit card companies.

Here are the cities with the biggest – and smallest – debt paydown so far in 2021.

Cities with the Biggest Debt Reduction

Santa Clarita, CA
New York, NY
Chesapeake, VA
Chula Vista, CA
Pembroke Pines, FL
Pearl City, HI
Santa Ana, CA
Virginia Beach, VA
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Plano, TX

Cities with the Smallest Debt Paydown

Fargo, ND
Buffalo, NY
Akron, OH
Cedar Rapids, IA
Milwaukee, WI
Toledo, OH
Cleveland, OH
Lewiston, ME
Madison, WI
Detroit, MI

Unfortunately, there could be some bad news on the horizon.

From WalletHub:

“The country’s credit card debt problem is far from solved, however. We still collectively owe nearly $900 billion to credit card companies, and the average household balance remains too high, at $7,519.

Both figures are also likely to rise as the economy reopens from the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, WalletHub’s early projection for credit card debt in 2021 is that U.S. consumers will add roughly $60 billion to their total balance.”

Click here to read the entire study.

To read more great studies conducted by WalletHub, check out the best states to find summer employment, the worst states for Millennials, and the best cities to start a new career in 2021.