Experian has released its insights today on average monthly payments of the top 25 metropolitan areas. The study found that nationally, consumers are paying $903 per month on their bills, which could include a combination of credit cards, auto loans and leases, and mortgages—a decrease of two percent in the last three years.
The study also reveals that Washington, D.C.; Seattle and Baltimore top the list with the highest average monthly payments with Washington, D.C. coming in at 42 percent higher than the national average. Cities with the lowest payments include Cleveland, Tampa and Pittsburgh.
Results ranked by highest to lowest by average monthly payment amounts are detailed below:
Metropolitan area
Average monthly payment
Difference from national average
1. Washington, D.C.
$1,285
42%
2. Seattle
$1,135
26%
3. Baltimore
$1,133
25%
4. Boston
$1,105
22%
5. Denver
$1,104
22%
6. San Francisco
$1,098
22%
7. San Diego
$1,076
19%
8. Sacramento
$1,045
16%
9. Los Angeles
$1,024
13%
10. Chicago
$1,017
13%
11. Philadelphia
Minneapolis
$1,011
$1,011
12%
12%
12. New York
$989
10%
13. Atlanta
$986
9%
14. Dallas
$970
7%
15. Phoenix
$957
6%
16. Portland
$948
5%
17. Cincinnati
$920
2%
18. Houston
$889
-2%
19. Columbus
$888
-2%
20. St. Louis
$886
-2%
21. Miami
$867
-4%
22. Detroit
$832
-8%
23. Cleveland
$812
-10%
24. Tampa
$791
-12%
25. Pittsburgh
$763
-16%
"The trend we're seeing is that consumers have lower payments, indicating both proactive deleveraging by consumers and tighter limits from lenders and certainly consumers are making fewer major purchases such as homes and cars than they were a few years ago," said Michele Raneri, senior director of analytics for Experian. "There are many ways to manage and develop a positive credit score and good payment habits. Paying bills on time is generally the single most important contributor."
The data was pulled and analyzed by Experian Decision Sciences using a statistically relevant sampling of Experian's File One consumer credit database. Credit files analyzed had all personal identification information removed. They then were filtered through Premier Attributes, a comprehensive set of credit attributes that provides consumer data at the most granular level, facilitating enhanced modeling opportunities. Experian's credit study data score averages are based on VantageScore.
For more information, visit www.experian.com.
