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Many Americans are under financial strain as they grapple with rising costs and carry growing balances on mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. Now, a new LendingTree study found that consumer debt is rising especially quickly in three states.<\/p>\n
U.S. consumers increased their average total debt from $134,495 to $139,659 between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 \u2014 an increase of 3.7%, or $5,164, according to the study.<\/p>\n
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Maryland experienced the largest increase, with an average total debt rising 10.3% from $170,251 to $187,750. Nevada followed, with an increase of nearly 10% and an average consumer debt of $163,999, and Idaho ranked third, with $161,941 in average consumer debt and a 9.3% increase.<\/p>\n
Although these states saw the sharpest increases, consumer debt levels are rising nationwide. Missouri was the only state to record a decline, with average debt falling 0.3%. Meanwhile, average mortgage balances increased in 45 states, personal loan and credit card debts rose in 39 states, and average non-mortgage debt increased in 28 states.<\/p>\n
Why debts are rising <\/p>\n
\u201cGiven stubborn inflation, still-high interest rates and a tough job market, I tend to believe that most of the debt growth we\u2019re seeing today is because of people struggling, but there\u2019s never just one reason,\u201d Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst, told LendingTree (1).<\/p>\n
That complexity is evident in Idaho\u2019s case: The state ranked among those with the largest increases in consumer debt, yet also recorded the fastest average real wage growth (6.7%) among U.S. states between July 2024 and June 2025, according to Visual Capitalist\u2019s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data (2).<\/p>\n
For many, though, rising debt levels come from feeling increasingly squeezed. While inflation rates have come down from their highs in 2022, prices continue to rise \u2014 up 3.3% year over year ending in March (3).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, housing prices remain near historic highs (4). And mortgage rates, while below recent peaks, are still well above levels seen between the Great Recession and the early years of the pandemic (5). Both factors can lead to higher mortgage debt.<\/p>\n
More than one-third (38%) of consumers surveyed in September 2025 by Achieve, a debt management company, say it\u2019s \u201cdifficult\u201d or \u201cvery difficult\u201d to pay all of their bills on time, with two-thirds (67%) saying they don\u2019t earn enough income to cover their spending.<\/p>\n
The most commonly cited reasons for missed debt payments were a job loss or reduced income (21%) and higher costs of essential expenses (15%) (6). If prices continue to rise or the labor market weakens, more people could find themselves stretched thin.<\/p>\n
Read More: Robert Kiyosaki warned of a ‘Greater Depression’ \u2014 with millions of Americans going poor. Was he right?<\/a><\/p>\n How to rescue yourself from debt <\/p>\n With strong economic pressures across the U.S., it\u2019s possible for almost anyone to find themselves drowning in debt. Some signs you may be getting in over your head include not knowing how much you owe, only being able to make minimum payments, or borrowing money to pay everyday bills, according to Debt.com (7).<\/p>\n Another red flag is having a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio above 40%. To figure this out, add up your total monthly debt payments (including your rent or mortgage) and divide that by your gross monthly income (8).<\/p>\n If you\u2019re losing sleep over your finances or hiding your situation from family and friends, it may be time to make a change.<\/p>\n Pay down your debt <\/p>\n Begin by taking stock of what you owe. Create a list showing each lender, the balance owed and the interest rate, minimum monthly payment and due date. Prioritize bringing any delinquent accounts back into good standing, if possible.<\/p>\n Once you have a better understanding of your debt situation, consider which debt repayment strategy works best for you.<\/p>\n The two most common strategies are the avalanche method and the snowball method. The first focuses on paying off your biggest, or highest-interest, debt first, then knocking off the other ones in short order. Meanwhile, the snowball method takes the opposite approach \u2014 building up steam by paying off the little debts first on the way up to the big one.<\/p>\n Another option is consolidating all your debts into a personal loan through Credible<\/a> could be an effective way to get rid of your debt faster. Instead of juggling multiple monthly payments, you\u2019ll have one predictable payment to manage each month.<\/p>\n Through Credible’s online marketplace, finding the right loan becomes much simpler. Credible lets you comparison-shop for the lowest interest rates<\/a> with just a few clicks.<\/p>\n In less than three minutes, you can see all the lenders willing to help pay off your credit cards or other debts with a single personal loan.<\/p>\n If you owe a substantial amount, you may also want to see if you qualify for a debt relief program<\/a> to help clear a significant portion of your debt.<\/p>\n With Freedom Debt Relief, you can speak with a certified debt relief consultant for free<\/a>, who can show you how much you can save by partnering with them.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re eligible, they can negotiate settlements with your creditors until all of your enrolled debt is resolved. Whatever you choose, the first step to rebuilding your financial footing is clearing as much debt as you can.<\/p>\n Find the money you need to pay down your debt <\/p>\n To find the money needed to repay debt, you could start by creating a budget that works for you. Freeing up money from your monthly line items is one way to find the cash you need to stay on top of, and pay down, your interest plus principal.<\/p>\n You can create a custom budget to track where your money is going at all times with Monarch Money<\/a>.<\/p>\n Monarch Money puts all your finances under one roof, from your banking statements to your investments. Once you link your accounts \u2014 including investments and real estate \u2014 you will be able to view every transaction through one clean, searchable list<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can get custom notifications regarding upcoming bills, allowing you to stay on top of your bills and reducing your chances of missing a payment or incurring late fees.<\/p>\n Monarch Money also helps you forecast your spending beyond just one month<\/a>, as well as save for big goals along the way.<\/p>\n You can get a seven-day free trial to see if it\u2019s right for you. And if you like the platform, you can get 50% off for your first year with the code WISE50<\/a>.<\/p>\n Create an emergency fund <\/p>\n Getting out of debt is a major win \u2014 but staying out of it takes a plan. That\u2019s where an emergency fund comes in. Stashing away three to six months\u2019 worth of expenses can give you breathing room when life throws a curveball, so you\u2019re not forced to lean on high-interest credit cards.<\/p>\n A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account<\/a> can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.<\/p>\n A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC\u2019s March report.<\/p>\n Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000\/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%<\/a>.<\/p>\n With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24\/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Build better financial habits <\/p>\n With that safety net in place, the focus can shift to growing your money over time. You don\u2019t need thousands of dollars upfront to get started \u2014 even small contributions can snowball.<\/p>\n For instance, investing $20 each week for 30 years can help you save over $179,000, assuming it compounds at 10% annually.<\/p>\n If those kinds of returns are too tempting to pass up, platforms like Acorns<\/a> allow you to turn your spare change from everyday purchases into an investment opportunity.<\/p>\n Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: All you have to do is link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference \u2014 your spare change \u2014 into a diversified portfolio managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.<\/p>\n With Acorns, you can invest in an index ETF with as little as $5 \u2014 and, if you sign up today and set up a recurring investment, Acorns will add a $20 bonus<\/a> to help you begin your investment journey.<\/p>\n \u2014 With files from Vawn Himmelsbach<\/p>\n You May Also Like <\/p>\n Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise\u2019s best stories and exclusive interviews first \u2014 clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/p>\n Article sources <\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n LendingTree (1<\/a>); Visual Capitalist (2<\/a>); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (3<\/a>); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4<\/a>); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (5<\/a>); Achieve (6<\/a>); Debt.com (7<\/a>); Better Money Habits (8<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. Many Americans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[28,1914,21045,155,270343,67499,101,9007,47506,147572,5412,1909],"class_list":["post-624533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-consumer-debt","tag-credit-cards","tag-dave-ramsey","tag-debt-growth","tag-debt-management","tag-economy","tag-interest-rates","tag-lendingtree","tag-mortgage-debt","tag-mortgage-rates","tag-personal-loans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}