The States With the Most Household Debt

Total U.S. household debt continued to climb in the fourth quarter of 2015. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, households added $51 billion of debt in the final three months of the year, pushing total indebtedness to $12.12 trillion at the end of the quarter. Mortgage debt remains the leading contributor by far, but student loan debt also continued its ascent.

How much does the average household owe? Nationwide, the per-capita debt is about $46,170, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its most recent report. That can vary significantly, however, state by state. In California, where home prices can be infamously high, total debt clocked in at a whopping $65,510 per capita at the end of 2015.