Columbus makes top 10 list of cities with most millennial debt

The typical urban millennial carries significant debt, a new LendingTree study found. It revealed that the median debt balance for millennials living in the 50 biggest U.S. cities is $23,064. Columbus came in at number 10 on the list.

To find millennials deepest area of debt, researchers analyzed anonymized credit report data of My LendingTree users who live in the 50 biggest metro areas in the U.S.

Looking at debt balances (excluding mortgages) for those born between 1981 and 1996, the study determined:

• Where millennials have the biggest non-mortgage median debt obligations
• The average breakdown of debt obligations by five different debt types: student, auto, credit cards, personal loans and other

The results revealed a snapshot of millennials’ debt balances, along with the major U.S. cities in which millennials are the most (and least) indebted.

Key findings

Millennials in San Antonio, Pittsburgh, and Austin, Texas, carry the largest debt burdens of the 50 biggest metros, with median non-mortgage debts of $27,122, $26,403 and $26,164, respectively.

Three California cities - San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles - have the lowest median balances in the study at $18,376, $18,691 and $19,299, respectively.

Student debt makes up the largest share of millennial debt, accounting for 40% of their total credit and loan balances. The proportion of student debt was highest in Philadelphia, at 49.1% of the average debt burden, and lowest in San Jose at 24.1%. This was also the largest debt category for millennials in 35 of the 50 cities reviewed.

Auto loan debt was the biggest debt burden of the other 15 metros and averaged about 33% of millennials’ average total debt balances. Auto loans accounted for over 43% of the average debt for millennials in Riverside, Calif., and San Antonio, but just over 22% of New York City millennials’ debt.

The study revealed the 10 states where millennials have the highest debt balances. In every one of these cities, more than half of millennials have outstanding debts totaling $25,000 or more (not including mortgages). And roughly 1 in 4 millennials living in these cities owes more than $50,000.

The breakdown of these debts was similar to the average overall, with student debt and auto loans accounting for a larger portion of millennials’ outstanding credit balances in these cities.

Millennials in the South appear to be borrowing more - eight of these 10 cities are in this region, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas, in particular, dominates the list of indebted millennials. San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas are among the 10 cities where millennials owe the most.

Cities where millennials are taking on the most non-mortgage debt:

1. San Antonio. Median balance: $27,122
2. Pittsburgh. Median balance: $26,403
3. Austin. Median balance: $26,164
4. Houston. Median balance: $25,978
5. Jacksonville, Fla. Median balance: $25,947
6. Dallas. Median balance: $25,939
7. Washington. Median balance: $25,810
8. Virginia Beach, Va. Median balance: $25,591
9. Oklahoma City. Median balance: $25,351
10. Columbus, Ohio. Median balance: $25,129