At the end of 2011, the average Baton Rougean had cut their credit card debt by nearly 15% over the year, according to a new report by consumer-credit company Equifax. With a 14.69% drop, the Baton Rouge metro area is ranked 29th on Equifax’s list of the U.S. metros that saw the greatest reductions in credit card debt in 2011. Shreveport-Bossier City is fourth on the list, with a 20% drop in average credit card debt, while Lafayette is 13th, having recorded a 16.6% drop; New Orleans is 52nd, with an 11% decline. In fact, the cities with the most sizable reductions are clustered into four states: Louisiana, Florida, Washington and California. The report shows nearly 60% of the top 100 metro areas in the country saw double-digit declines in the percentage of income owed to credit card companies. Total consumer debt has declined nearly 11% from its peak of $12.4 trillion in October 2008, Equifax says, but American households still owe $800 billion to credit card companies alone—aside from other types of debts, such as mortgages and student loans.
Today’s poll question: Did you reduce your credit card debt in 2011?
