San Diego, CA
Credit card debt is soaring, especially in this San Diego-area city
(NEXSTAR) – Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at a level not seen in more than a decade amid high interest rates and persistent inflation, but some cities have far higher average debts than others, a study found.
Four of the five cities with the highest average household credit card debt are located in California, a study by finance site WalletHub found. One of those cities is located in San Diego County.
According to this data, Chula Vista has an average household credit card debt of $20,920, with total credit card debt adding up to $1,737,924,020.
Using data from the Census Bureau, TransUnion and the Federal Reserve, the study’s authors looked at inflation-adjusted household debt in the country’s largest 181 cities found Santa Clarita, California to have the highest average household credit card debt ($21,836), followed by Chula Vista, CA ($20,920), New York, NY ($19,207), Fontana, CA ($18,843) and Rancho Cucamonga, CA ($18,549).
| Rank* | City | Household Credit Card Debt | Total Credit Card Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clarita, CA | $21,836 | $1,601,940,835 |
| 2 | Chula Vista, CA | $20,920 | $1,737,924,020 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $19,207 | $63,051,659,994 |
| 4 | Fontana, CA | $18,843 | $1,052,484,026 |
| 5 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | $18,549 | $1,067,576,023 |
| 6 | Pearl City, HI | $18,525 | $277,629,365 |
| 7 | Riverside, CA | $18,094 | $1,638,261,858 |
| 8 | Oxnard, CA | $18,068 | $923,256,732 |
| 9 | Chesapeake, VA | $17,993 | $1,644,029,202 |
| 10 | Pembroke Pines, FL | $17,896 | $1,124,017,882 |
| 11 | Moreno Valley, CA | $17,847 | $962,997,139 |
| 12 | Scottsdale, AZ | $17,502 | $2,027,197,821 |
| 13 | Santa Ana, CA | $17,500 | $1,357,153,414 |
| 14 | Plano, TX | $17,410 | $1,870,634,960 |
| 15 | Gilbert, AZ | $17,305 | $1,562,646,307 |
| 16 | Glendale, CA | $17,304 | $1,264,996,463 |
| 17 | Henderson, NV | $17,013 | $2,120,265,216 |
| 18 | Virginia Beach, VA | $16,947 | $3,031,986,253 |
| 19 | Los Angeles, CA | $16,873 | $23,612,096,710 |
| 20 | Huntington Beach, CA | $16,767 | $1,301,835,881 |
For the full ranking of the 181 largest cities, see the WalletHub study.
“Some of the cities where households owe the most credit card debt, like Santa Clarita and Chula Vista, CA, have high median incomes, high debt payoff rates and low delinquency rates; this indicates that residents may simply have high credit card limits and can afford to borrow more,” according to Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst. “Other cities, like New York, have high average credit card debts driven more by financial struggles, which we can see in the number of people who are in financial distress or who are delinquent on their debt.”
What’s behind the debt?
For many American families, it’s likely a combination of factors.
With the Federal Reserve raising its key interest rate to fight nagging inflation, the interest rate on new credit cards has also jumped higher. As of Thursday, the average APR was 24.80%, according to LendingTree.
Tavares said that the number of bills that have become delinquent is now higher than it was before the pandemic, adding that renters appear to be especially vulnerable.
“Younger and less affluent people are experiencing challenges,” Silvio Tavares, CEO of VantageScore, a credit score modeling and analytics company, told the Associated Press. “And high interest rates are having an effect.”
Along with high interest rates and inflation driving up the cost of everyday goods, Americans can no longer rely on some of the pandemic-era stimulus instruments, such as payments, the child tax credit and increased unemployment benefits that boosted household finances.
While not every person with a rolling credit card debt is delinquent, many Americans are increasingly at-risk of not making payments, according to Bruce McClary, senior vice president at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
There’s likely a large group of consumers paying minimum balances and staying out of delinquency for now but who are too financially stressed to pay their balances in full, McClary said. A worsening of the economy could push those consumers into severe delinquency.
For those people working to get out of debt, McClary recommends calling credit card companies to negotiate interest rates, fees and long-term payment plans.
“The best thing to do is to reach out, give an honest assessment of your ability to pay over time, and ask what options are available to you both ‘on and off-the-menu,’” McClary said. This kind of phrasing can give creditors an opening to offer more flexibility, he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Eugenia (Jeanne) Kintzele
OBITUARY
Eugenia P. Hart Kintzele passed peacefully on November 3 with her family by her side. Born in Miami, Arizona on 11/08/1925, she graduated from the University of Arizona, where she met her husband, Ed Kintzele. She worked as a teacher for the Girls and Boys Aid of the Grossmont High School District. She was president of the AAUW and El Cajon Library. She was predeceased by her husband Ed and her son Phillip. She is survived by her sons Bill and Brian Kintzele, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
San Diego, CA
Gonzaga vs. San Diego State FREE LIVE STREAM: Watch college basketball online: Time, TV, Channel
No. 4 Gonzaga faces San Diego State in a men’s college basketball game at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 (11/18/24).
How to watch: Fans can watch the game with a FREE TRIAL of DirecTV Stream and FuboTV.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: College basketball
Who: Gonzaga vs. San Diego State
When: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024
Where: Viejas Arena
Time: 10 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Live stream: DirecTV Stream and FuboTV
AP Story:
Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-0) at San Diego State Aztecs (2-0)
San Diego; Monday, 10 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -11.5; over/under is 151
BOTTOM LINE: No. 4 Gonzaga plays San Diego State after Khalif Battle scored 21 points in Gonzaga’s 113-54 victory over the UMass-Lowell River Hawks.
San Diego State finished 26-11 overall last season while going 14-1 at home. The Aztecs averaged 74.1 points per game last season, 15.5 from the free-throw line and 21 from deep.
Gonzaga finished 8-2 on the road and 27-8 overall last season. The Bulldogs averaged 84.5 points per game last season, 42.3 in the paint, 14.6 off of turnovers and 13.9 on fast breaks.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust.
Cayden Steele may be reached at CSteele@njadvancemedia.com
A new restaurant and seafood market operated and stocked by local fishermen has docked just steps from the sand in Pacific Beach. Nico’s Fish Market is the permanent location of a roving outfit that’s been popping up around town since 2022, including regular weekend residencies at Oceanside’s South O Brewing and the Shanty in Cardiff.
The Emerald Street space is the fruition of a dream that founder Nico Gibbons has held since he was a teenager. At 18, the San Diego native started as a bus boy at El Pescador Fish Market, working at the 50-year-old La Jolla institution even while attending college at UCLA and eventually becoming a fishmonger. Through family connections, Gibbons spent several months living in Mexico City, training in the kitchen with chef Federico Rigoletti (Contramar) while spending nights cutting fish in the city’s main seafood market. After returning to San Diego, he learned the wholesale side of the business at Hawaiian Fresh Seafood, where he graded tuna for the poke experts.
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Photos of the local fishermen who fuel the market and restaurant, including Gibbons himself, are displayed next to the retail seafood counter, where sashimi plates and containers of poke sit on ice next to filets of fresh fish, from bluefin tuna to local halibut and swordfish.
Gibbons, who lives in Pacific Beach, worked with the owner of a neighborhood taco shop he used to frequent to take over its lease with help from Dino De Salvio of Next Wave Commercial.
The menu includes poke bowls plus tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and plates featuring the day’s fresh catch always cut to order. Gibbons tells Eater that they’ll also be running specials featuring seasonal local seafood and are working to secure a beer and wine license.
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