Drew Dixon
Floridians aren’t very good when it comes to credit card discipline, according to a new study analyzing different states and the ability of residents to handle debt.
Ladah Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, a law firm in Las Vegas, analyzed credit card patterns and financial responsibility among all 50 states and concluded Florida was the seventh-worst state in credit card discipline.
The analysis looked at credit card patterns and used three elements to rack up the ranking. That included a comparison between credit card debt and median income, credit card utilization, and the Fair Isaac Corp., also known as FICO, a credit scoring system which uses credit ratings and other factors. The law firm combined those factors to determine a credit card responsibility score.
Florida’s credit card discipline score came in at 45.
“The Sunshine State has an average credit card balance of $7,392 against a median income of $62,973 (representing 11.7% of income and scoring 4/40 for debt ratio). The state recorded an average utilization ratio of 31% (scoring 13/30) and an average FICO Score of 707 (scoring 29/30 for credit score),” researchers conducting the study concluded.
Florida had a lot of company from other Southern states in terms of trouble handling credit cards. The 10 least responsible states were Sun Belt states with the exception of Nevada, which was ranked just above Florida at sixth.
Louisiana is at the top of the heap among the states with the worst credit card discipline, with a responsibility score of 33.6. Next comes Texas, with a score of 35.6, and Georgia, with a score of 38.5.
Alabama was ranked the 10th-most irresponsible state with credit cards, posting a score of 54.2. Other states among the worst credit card handlers include Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas and South Carolina.
“The study shows that the bottom-performing states reflect a perfect storm of economic factors: lower median incomes combined with aggressive credit marketing in regions lacking financial literacy. Credit card companies often target consumers in these areas with high-limit offers. Still, without proper education on the actual cost of carrying balances, residents can quickly find themselves trapped in debt cycles that take years to escape,” the study found.
