Two months ago, Jacksonville ranked in personal finance company WalletHub’s top 10 U.S. cities where residents are the most financially stressed.
Just last week, Florida ranked in Forbes Advisor’s top 10 states where it’s most difficult for residents to save money and the Miami metro area ranked in the top five metro areas where it’s hardest for people to save.
To add to the string of rankings lists that name Florida a hotspot for spending big bucks just to keep the bills paid, a more recent study from WalletHub revealed this week that one Florida city ranks in the top 10 U.S. cities where personal loan debt is the highest. And two other Florida cities made the top 20 list.
Here are the cities in Florida that ranked on WalletHub’s national list of cities where residents have the most personal loan debt and some tips from WalletHub for paying off your personal loan debt faster.
What city in the U.S. has the most personal loan debt?
To find which U.S. cities have the most residents with personal loan debt, WalletHub analyzed each city against its proprietary data on consumer debt.
“Personal loan debt increased by as much as 18% in the largest U.S. cities from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024,” WalletHub Editor John Kiernan said in the study.
“This indicates that people may be more desperate to borrow money, though it’s important to look at other factors like residents’ credit scores and delinquency rates in order to get the full picture. People in some cities are managing their increased debt loads better than others, and in some cases, more debt could indicate increased creditworthiness.”
According to WalletHub’s study, the U.S. city where residents have the most debt from personal loans is Detroit, Michigan.
Orlando is the only Florida city to rank in the top 10, with the ninth-most personal loan debt on the list.
Miami and Hialeah both placed at the bottom of WalletHub’s top 20, in 16th and 17th place, respectively.
WalletHub’s the top 20 U.S. cities with the most personal loan debt
- Detroit, Michigan
- Wichita, Kansas
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Henderson, Nevada
- Irvine, California
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Orlando, Florida
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Houston, Texas
- Dallas, Texas
- Kansas City, Missouri
- North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Miami, Florida
- Hialeah, Florida
- Memphis, Tennessee
- St. Louis, Missouri
- San Francisco, California
How to get out of personal loan debt
The only way to get out of personal loan debt is to pay it off. There’s no secret or magic trick to make it go away in one day, but there are some techniques you can use to pay it off faster.
Here are some tips for paying off your personal loan debt from WalletHub’s personal finance experts:
- Budget wisely: “Making a strict monthly budget and cutting out unnecessary expenses will help you ensure that you set aside enough money every month to cover your loan payments. If possible, you may even want to consider paying more than you’re required to each month, which will help you get out of debt sooner and pay less interest.”
- Set up automatic payments: “Missing a loan payment is bad for your credit score, but setting up automatic payments prevents that from happening, assuming you have enough money in your bank account to cover the payment.”
- Prioritize high-interest debts: “If you have multiple unsecured personal loans or debts, prioritize paying off those with the highest interest rates first. This strategy minimizes the overall interest you’ll pay, helping you save money in the long run. Make minimum payments on other debts while directing any extra funds toward the balance with the highest rate.”
- Explore debt consolidation options: “You may want to consider using a debt consolidation loan or balance transfer credit card to combine multiple loans into a single balance with a lower interest rate. Doing this can simplify your payments and reduce your overall interest costs. However, you’ll likely need to have at least good credit to qualify for the best options.”
- Generate additional income: “Explore opportunities to increase your income. This could involve taking on a part-time job, freelancing, or selling items you no longer need. Supplementing your income provides extra funds that can be dedicated to paying off your unsecured personal loans more quickly.”
- Consider other debt solutions: “If you’re really having trouble paying off your loans, you could consider asking your lender for temporary forbearance or a reduced interest rate. In more drastic situations, you could consider setting up a debt management plan or settling your debt if you’ve been delinquent on it for a while.”
