LendingTree®, the nation’s leading online loan marketplace, has released its study on the places where millennials carry the most debt.
The study found that student loans make up the biggest share of millennial debt, but auto loans are close behind. The study revealed that the typical urban millennial carries significant debt; the average debt balance for millennials living in the 50 biggest U.S. cities is $23,064.
LendingTree researchers analyzed anonymized credit report data of My LendingTree users who live in the 50 biggest metro areas in the U.S. Looking at debt balances (excluding mortgages) for those born between 1981 and 1996, they determined:
- Where millennials have the biggest non-mortgage median debt obligations
- The average breakdown of debt obligations by five different debt types: student, auto, credit cards, personal loans and other
The results revealed a snapshot of millennials’ debt balances, along with the major U.S. cities in which millennials are the most (and least) indebted.
Key findings:
- Millennials in San Antonio, Pittsburgh, and Austin, Texas, shoulder the largest debt burdens of the 50 biggest metros, with median non-mortgage debts of $27,122, $26,403 and $26,164, respectively.
- Three California cities — San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles — have the lowest median balances on the list at $18,376, $18,691 and $19,299, respectively.
- Student debt makes up the largest share of millennial debt, accounting for 40 percent of their total credit and loan balances. The proportion of student debt was highest in Philadelphia, at 49.1 percent of the average debt burden, and lowest in San Jose at 24.1 percent. This was also the largest debt category for millennials in 35 of the 50 cities reviewed.
- Auto loan debt was the biggest debt burden of the other 15 metros and averaged about 33 percent of millennials’ average total debt balances. Auto loans accounted for over 43 percent of the average debt for millennials in Riverside, Calif., and San Antonio, but just over 22 percent of New York City millennials’ debt.
To read the full press release, click here.