Here’s a summer shocker: The more money you make, the easier time you’ll have paying off credit card debt.
That’s the finding (OK, maybe not so shocking) of a new study from CreditCards.com, which looked into median income and average credit card balance in different parts of the country to determine where people have the easiest time shouldering their credit loads.
Among the top 25 metro markets in the country, Boston has the second easiest time paying off credit card debt in the country. According to the study, the average Bostonian could pay off his credit card debt in nine months, paying $267 in interest over that time. The finding assumes that the said debtor pays about 15 percent in income toward beating back credit card debt each month.
San Antonio, by contrast, has the highest debt burden: It would take 16 months, with $448 in interest.
Why is Boston so well positioned in the study? It’s not because of low overall debt. Boston ranks 13th in the country in terms of average credit card debt, right in the middle of the pack, according to CreditCards.com senior analyst Matt Schulz.
But Bostonians, on the whole, make a lot of money, ranking second in the country in annual income. With that kind of income, Boston’s credit card debt load is far less of a burden than it may otherwise be.
The geographic finding is based on medians and averages, so any comfort you take from the study probably only carries as far as your personal financial situation.
“It really is all about earnings,” Schulz said. “It shows the importance of doing what you can to increase your income.”
Words to live by.