Report finds Austin is the most debt-ridden city in the US

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Everything's bigger in Texas — including debt.

Online platform LendingTree named Austin the most debt-ridden metro in the country, analyzing anonymous credit reports from approximately 210,000 users in the 50 largest U.S. metros. When looking at nonmortgage debt — which included auto loans, student loans, credit cards, personal loans and other types of debt — LendingTree reported a per-person average of $45,920 in debt for Austin residents.

Within that figure, Austinites' average debt broke down into:

• $17,144 for auto loan debt
• $11,162 for student loan debt
• $9,313 for credit card debt
• $4,638 for personal loan debt

LendingTree experts said Austin's current city infrastructure leaning largely car-centric aided to the higher auto loan debt, particularly when paired with high interest rates and increased auto costs. On the student loan front, LendingTree's report pointed to Austin having a highly educated population as well as robust industry jobs in the science and technology fields, which often spell out higher education attainment and related debt.

“As it has grown so rapidly over the years, Austin has become a far more expensive place to live than it used to be,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst, in the report.

Austin wasn't the only Texas city with high debt levels. LendingTree's Top 10 metro breakdown included four Texas cities in the rankings:

1. Austin, Texas: $45,920 in average nonmortgage debt
2. San Antonio, Texas: $44,812 in average nonmortgage debt
3. Houston, Texas: $44,640 in average nonmortgage debt
4. Miami, Florida: $44,230 in average nonmortgage debt
5. Atlanta, Georgia: $44,059 in average nonmortgage debt
6. Dallas, Texas: $43,901 in average nonmortgage debt
7. Orlando, Florida: $43,888 in average nonmortgage debt
8. Washington, D.C.: $42,039 in average nonmortgage debt
9. Riverside, California: $41,752 in average nonmortgage debt
10. Tampa, Florida: $41,439 in average nonmortgage debt

The top metros with the least nonmortgage debt ranked as follows:

1. San Jose, California: $26,704 in average nonmortgage debt
2. Louisville, Kentucky: $31,456 in average nonmortgage debt
3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $31,700 in average nonmortgage debt
4. San Francisco, California: $32,201 in average nonmortgage debt
5. Seattle, Washington: $32,453 in average nonmortgage debt
6. Providence, Rhode Island; $34,064 in average nonmortgage debt
7. Kansas City, Missouri: $34,173 in average nonmortgage debt
8. Detroit, Michigan: $34,173 in average nonmortgage debt
9. New York, New York: $34,459 in average nonmortgage debt
10. Salt Lake City, Utah: $34,526 in average nonmortgage debt

LendingTree's study noted high-earning jobs as an explanation behind top rankings in communities like San Jose, San Francisco and New York, while other cities like Louisville had some of the lowest average credit card debt levels nationally.

The full analysis is available online.