Portage County Legal News

Central Ohio millennials carry some of the highest debt in the country

BRANDON KLEIN
Special to the Legal News
Published: September 20, 2018

Central Ohio was among the top 10 largest cities where millennials carried the most debt.

Columbus ranked 10th among the largest 50 cities in the nation with the average debt balance of $37,118 and the median balance of $25,129, excluding mortgages, according to a study from LendingTree.

The average debt balance for all 50 cities was $34,642 and the median balance was $23,064. The study defines millennials as those born between 1981 and 1996.

"The millennial generation makes up the younger portion of adults, and as they build their careers, families and communities, they're doing it encumbered by personal debt," said Kali McFadden, the LendingTree senior research analyst who led the study.

Columbus was one of four cities that followed the trend of student loans making up the largest share of millennial debt with auto loans close behind.

Student loans made up 48.1 percent of millennial mortgage-excluded debt in Columbus, followed by auto loans (29.2 percent), credit cards (14.6 percent), personal loans (7 percent) and other debts (1.1 percent).

For all 50 cities in the study, student loans made up 40 percent of the debt, followed by auto loans (39.2 percent), credit cards (16.8 percent), personal loans (8.8 percent) and other debt (1.5 percent).

San Antonio's millennials carried the most debt with a median debt balance, excluding mortgages, of $27,122, followed by Pittsburgh ($26,403), Austin, Texas, ($26,164), Houston ($25,978), Jacksonville, Fla., ($25,947), Dallas ($25,939), Washington ($25,810), Virginia Beach, Va., ($25,591) and Oklahoma City ($25,351).

In addition, the study found that three California cities - San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles - have the lowest median balances on the list at $18,376, $18,691 and $19,299, respectively.

Philadelphia had the highest proportion of student debt at 49.1 percent of the average debt burden, while San Jose had the lowest at 24.1 percent.

Auto loan debt was the biggest debt burden in 15 metro areas, averaging about 33 percent of the millennials' average debt balances.

It accounted for more than 43 percent of the average debt in Riverside, Calif., and San Antonio, but over 22 percent of New York City millennials' debt.

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