- Millennials are stressing about their credit card and student-loan debt.
- LendingTree recently looked at where millennial debt is rising the fastest in the US.
- While increases in debt can signal financial struggles, it may also be a sign that millennials are increasing their earning power.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Millennials are buckling under all kinds of debt.
And they’re more stressed about it than other generations, according to an Insider and Morning Consult survey. They’re most stressed about their credit card and undergrad student loan debts – 51.5% and 28.4% of millennial respondents have each, respectively.
But the decision to take on debt depends on a variety of economic and lifestyle factors: like where you live. To see how millennials’ finances are changing, LendingTree recently looked at where millennial debt is rising the fastest in the US.
The analysis looked at data from more than 300,000 LendingTree users across the top 101 metropolitan statistical areas in the US, and compared the median – or typical – millennial’s non-mortgage debt from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019. After ranking by the highest percentage change, it found that debt rose in all but two of those metro areas.
That sounds pretty bad. But it could also be a sign that millennials are able to take more debt on as they earn more money, according to the report.
Here are the top 25 metro areas where millennials saw the biggest increases in non-mortgage debt over the past year.
25. North Port, Florida
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 15.6%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $25,628
24. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 15.7%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $22,002
23. New Orleans, Louisiana
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 15.9%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $28,922
22. Los Angeles, California
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 15.9%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $23,211
21. Richmond, Virginia
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 16.1%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $26,695
T20. Chattanooga, Tennessee
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 16.3%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $25,263
T20. Hartford, Connecticut
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 16.3%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $28,580
18. Columbus, Ohio
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 16.5%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $29,563
17. Bakersfield, California
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 17%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $24,068
16. Greenville, South Carolina
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 17.2%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $23,890
15. Nashville, Tennessee
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 17.5%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $27,406
14. Springfield, Massachusetts
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 17.6%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $22,154
13. McAllen, Texas
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 17.7%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $29,005
T12. San Jose, California
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 18.3%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $24,943
T12. Knoxville, Tennessee
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 18.3%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $22,574
10. Baltimore, Maryland
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 18.5%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $27,531
9. New Haven, Connecticut
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 19.5%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $27,791
8. Palm Bay, Florida
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 19.6%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $27,109
7. Columbia, South Carolina
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 20.3%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $32,486
6. Deltona, Florida
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 21.4%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $27,178
5. Stockton, California
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 22.2%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $22,267
4. Memphis, Tennessee
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 23.4%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $26,132
3. Des Moines, Iowa
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 24.1%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $33,484
2. Bridgeport, Connecticut
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 26%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $28,797
1. Worcester, Massachusetts
Change in typical non-mortgage debt from 2018 to 2019: 28.7%
Typical non-mortgage debt in 2019: $27,773