Where U.S. Families are Most Strained by Debt

Описание: Hawaii and Idaho have the highest debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of the states at 2.06.
This means households carry about $2 in debt for every $1 in annual income.
High ratio states (~1.7–2.1) are often places with expensive housing or fast population growth (bigger mortgages, newer borrowers).

Americans are always worrying about debt: their own and their government’s.

This visualization maps each state by their household debt-to-income ratios (DTI) in Q1, 2025, revealing which states carry the heaviest burdens and which ones keep borrowing in check.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Dakota come in at just 1.11.

Many low-debt states share three traits. They have lower housing costs, older homeowner bases with significant equity, and slower population growth that tempers new borrowing.

However, even high-income states like Connecticut and the District of Columbia can land in this cohort thanks to well-paid residents who keep balances in check.

The gap underscores how regional housing dynamics, more than incomes alone, dictate household debt.

Finally, due to how this ratio is calculated, younger households’ true burden may be understated (student loan exclusion).

At the same time, the income measure is unemployment insurance-covered wages wages (not total personal income), which can overstate the ratio in high-capital-income areas (e.g., states with finance-heavy metros).

CC: https://www.federalreserve.gov/releas...