A Chicago firm that tracks credit card debt finds Iowans, on average, have the lowest level of credit card debt when compared to residents in all other states.
Ezra Becker is a consultant with the TransUnion firm in Chicago that crunched the numbers. "I think what we see for Iowa is actually a good story relative to what we see in the rest of the country," Becker says. "Debt from third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008 for the country rose at about 6 percent, whereas for Iowans it only rose 2.5 percent."
Iowans, on average, had just under $4300 worth of credit card debt in the third quarter of this year. Iowans also are less likely to fall behind in paying their credit cards bills. "What we see in Iowa (are) significantly lower delinquency rates, about 22 percent lower in the third quarter than the rest of the country," Becker says.
Becker examined other economic indicators. He says one reason debt levels are more moderate in Iowa may be because housing prices haven’t plummeted as dramatically as they have in other states. "In general it, again, is additional confirmation that the recession is not hitting Iowans as hard as the average United States citizen elsewhere," Becker says.
The average American had over $5300 in credit card debt during the third quarter. That’s about a thousand dollars more credit card debt than Iowans carried.