How Long It Takes the Typical Resident of Each State to Eliminate Debt

A new MoneyLion study found that in more than a dozen U.S. states, it can take over 10 years to become debt-free even when 20% of income is directed toward debt repayment each month.

If only 15% of monthly income goes toward debt, the research suggests that the average person in every state would need at least a decade, and in some cases 20 years or longer, to pay everything off.

To estimate how long debt repayment takes for the average American, MoneyLion used statewide average consumer debt figures from Experian’s latest data. That total includes mortgage debt, HELOCs, student loans, auto loans, personal loans, credit cards, and retail cards. The company then paired those figures with each state’s median household income to calculate how long it would take a median household to eliminate average consumer debt at monthly repayment rates of 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, and 2.5%. For this article, the analysis focused on 20% and 15% of monthly income, based on the traditional 50/30/20 budgeting rule.

Key Findings

Below is a look at how long it takes the average person to pay off debt in each U.S. state.