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What State has the most debt?

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MakingProgress
Senior Contributor

What State has the most debt?

Nearly half the residents of Louisiana have debt that has gone into collections, making that state America's capital of past-due debt, according to a new national map of indebtedness released by the Urban Institute this week.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/08/americans-are-drowning-in-debt-heres-...

 

When looking at the map in the article, my county is in black indicating that over 70% of the population has at least one collections account.  However the surrouding counties are at 31% or less. 

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Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
Moneyklutz
Frequent Contributor

Re: What State has the most debt?

I just shared this with my wife who is employed in the financial side of the health care business.

 

We both wonder why Minnesota and eastern Washington are showing up as a clear anomaly vs the rest of the nation.

 

Culture?  diet?  sampling data?

 

Interesting~!

Message 2 of 13
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What State has the most debt?

Hrm.  What I drew out of the data was places where the economy is doing worse have higher levels of indebtedness.

 

Washington state is doing just fine; I don't know enough about Minnesota to know, but for the rest of the map major economic areas (see Atlanta vs. rest of Georgia, and you see similar in Texas) appear to be doing much better than the the rest of the their respective regions.

 

Definitely interesting, thanks MakingProgress!

 




        
Message 3 of 13
MakingProgress
Senior Contributor

Re: What State has the most debt?


When looking at the map in the article, my county is in black indicating that over 70% of the population has at least one collections account.  However the surrouding counties are at 31% or less. 

 

 


I feel I need to make a correction here.  When I click on the link for the map itself instead of just looking at it in the article I get better data.

 

What appeared to be complete black when just looking at the image is not.  I find that the colors are darker and slightly misleading on the image.  By using the link for the interactive map  I see that my county has 41% of the population with a debt in collections, 35 % of the white population fall into this catagory and 61% of the non white population.

I live in a economically depressed county, and these figures show that the scocio economic problems of my area are having  a large effect on the population in regards to debt.

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Message 4 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What State has the most debt?

Some of the southern states have  a lot of debt. It makes sense due to the amount of damage hurricanes have done this year. I was expecting more debt in New York and California due to the higher cost of living.

Message 5 of 13
trusty
Frequent Contributor

Re: What State has the most debt?


@Moneyklutz wrote:

I just shared this with my wife who is employed in the financial side of the health care business.

 

We both wonder why Minnesota and eastern Washington are showing up as a clear anomaly vs the rest of the nation.

 

Culture?  diet?  sampling data?

 

Interesting~!


 

I would say it has a lot to do with the quality of the local school systems. The well educated tend to behave more financially responsibly. Certainly, the overall economics have an impact as well. But, the educated tend to land on their feet, regardless of the local economy.

 

I think it also has to do with culture, as well. The upper Midwest, New England, and Northwest areas of the country just seem to value society and government, moreso than the South, where the government may as well be the enemy.

 

Naturally, there are exceptions to every rule. But, think of people that you meet from different parts of the world. The fact is, we end up reflecting back where we came from... and how we were raised.

 

I would trust someone from the upper Midwest, the Northeast, or the Northwest a great deal more than someone from the deep South, or the Southwest... all else being equal. People just tend to be more shady and suspicious, in certain areas of the country. The numbers bear this out.

 

Remember, income is not the only determining factor in repayment. This is what credit scores are so clever at determining.

 

Someone with a huge income can behave far worse than someone with a modest income. The difference is whether they actually believe in the system enough to budget and pay their bills on time. Which has everything to do with how they were raised, to value society and government... and how being financially responsible contributes to the health of the whole community.

 

Just a thought experiment: Has anyone ever met anyone from Canada that they wouldn't easily be able to trust? - The one common trait here, is that all of the Northernmost areas of the country end up having solid financial skills. It's all about culture, local values, societal indoctrination, nationalism, nature, nurture... etc. 

Message 6 of 13
marty56
Super Contributor

Re: What State has the most debt?


@trusty wrote:

@Moneyklutz wrote:

I just shared this with my wife who is employed in the financial side of the health care business.

 

We both wonder why Minnesota and eastern Washington are showing up as a clear anomaly vs the rest of the nation.

 

Culture?  diet?  sampling data?

 

Interesting~!


 

I would say it has a lot to do with the quality of the local school systems. The well educated tend to behave more financially responsibly. Certainly, the overall economics have an impact as well. But, the educated tend to land on their feet, regardless of the local economy.

 

I think it also has to do with culture, as well. The upper Midwest, New England, and Northwest areas of the country just seem to value society and government, moreso than the South, where the government may as well be the enemy.

 

Naturally, there are exceptions to every rule. But, think of people that you meet from different parts of the world. The fact is, we end up reflecting back where we came from... and how we were raised.

 

I would trust someone from the upper Midwest, the Northeast, or the Northwest a great deal more than someone from the deep South, or the Southwest... all else being equal. People just tend to be more shady and suspicious, in certain areas of the country. The numbers bear this out.

 

Remember, income is not the only determining factor in repayment. This is what credit scores are so clever at determining.

 

Someone with a huge income can behave far worse than someone with a modest income. The difference is whether they actually believe in the system enough to budget and pay their bills on time. Which has everything to do with how they were raised, to value society and government... and how being financially responsible contributes to the health of the whole community.

 

Just a thought experiment: Has anyone ever met anyone from Canada that they wouldn't easily be able to trust? - The one common trait here, is that all of the Northernmost areas of the country end up having solid financial skills. It's all about culture, local values, societal indoctrination, nationalism, nature, nurture... etc. 


I couldn't have said it better myself.  Please don't come to Texas.

1/25/2021: FICO 850 EQ 848 TU 847 EX
Message 7 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What State has the most debt?

Financial responsibilty starts early between my parents and school I was taught money needs to be budgeted and bills come first.

Message 8 of 13
mitchblue
Valued Contributor

Re: What State has the most debt?


@Anonymous wrote:

Some of the southern states have  a lot of debt. It makes sense due to the amount of damage hurricanes have done this year. I was expecting more debt in New York and California due to the higher cost of living.


I suspect they would still have a lot of debt without hurricane damage

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Message 9 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What State has the most debt?


@Anonymous wrote:

Some of the southern states have  a lot of debt. It makes sense due to the amount of damage hurricanes have done this year. I was expecting more debt in New York and California due to the higher cost of living.


I think the folks who can't afford to live in NY and CA moved south. Remember too that this only shows collections. Higher incomes in said states mean folks can keep making minimum payments longer. Still in over their head, but not on this radar yet.

 

It's interesting too how some states like PA the cities are worse than average and in some states like FL the cities are better than average.

 

 

Message 10 of 13
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