LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Both Fort Smith and Little Rock rank well in the nation for lowering credit card debt.
Fort Smith ranked especially well in the survey by WalletHub, showing it was 28 out of 182 cities for paying down credit card debt. Little Rock’s ranking at 78 was not as great as Fort Smith’s, but it kept the city in the top half of the ranking.
The current average credit card debt in Fort Smith households is $9,534 with Little Rock at $11,715. Both figures show an increase in credit card debt over the past 12 months by $1,073 and $1,451, respectively, for the two cities.
According to the study, the national average credit card debt is $9,990 per household, an 8.9% jump from the $9,177 figure a year ago.
Lewistown, Maine, had the lowest household credit card debt at $ 8,200. Santa Clarita, California, has the highest household credit card debt of cities surveyed at $19,036.
Closer to home, Memphis was ranked 62 out of 182 cities with its $10,493 per household credit card debt. Jackson, Mississippi, ranked 57 at $9,611 in household debt.
Fort Smith and Little Rock were the only two Arkansas cities used in the survey. The survey used consumer finance data from the United States Census Bureau, Federal Reserve and the Trans Union credit reporting agency.