10 States Where Gen Z Has the Most Debt — and How To Pay It Off Now
According to Scholaroo, Gen Z has the lowest average credit card debt compared to other generations. As a matter of fact, post-millennials, on average, have $2,781 in credit card debt, with an average next card payment of $83. This means that they have approximately 52% less credit card debt than their millennial counterparts and 66.5% less than Gen Xers.
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While Gen Zers haven’t racked up as much debt as other generations, they aren’t exactly debt-free. On average, the youngest adult generation has $15,456 in student loan debt and an average mortgage of $195,849. Debt, however, is not distributed equally among the United States. Some states have Gen Zers with significantly more debt than others. Here are the 10 states where Gen Z has the most debt and how to pay it off now.
Arizona
Average debt: $18,708
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Oregon
Average debt: $18,713
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South Dakota
Average debt: $18,822
Wyoming
Average debt: $18,924
Idaho
Average debt: $19,167
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North Dakota
Average debt: $19,352
Colorado
Average debt: $19,532
Washington
Average debt: $20,349
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Utah
Average debt: $23,047
Hawaii
Average debt: $18,250
How To Pay Off Debt Now
If you are one of the millions of people saddled with large amounts of debt, hope is not lost. As a Gen Zer you are still young with plenty of time to correct course. The first way to fix money mistakes is to make a comprehensive budget. A budget should begin with your income and expenses. Once you can see how much you spend vs. how much you bring in, you can begin to make decisions about what are necessities and what is discretionary.
Most financial experts agree that you should tackle any credit card debt first. Start with your highest-interest cards and pay as much as you can each month until the balance is completely paid off. Continue to make the minimum payments on all other cards. Once you have paid off one card, apply the same principle to the card with the next highest interest rate until all of your credit cards have a zero balance.
Once you have your credit card debt paid off, you will have more money to put towards paying off any other loans and getting yourself set up for a future filled with financial freedom.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 States Where Gen Z Has the Most Debt — and How To Pay It Off Now
