Several Houston suburbs ranked most debt-ridden cities in the state, study finds

PHOTOS: Most debt-ridden cities in Texas

Several Houston-area suburbs were ranked as the most debt-ridden cities in Texas in a recent LendingTree study.

>>>Click through the photos to see which Houston-area cities are considered some of the most debt-ridden in Texas... less PHOTOS: Most debt-ridden cities in Texas

Several Houston-area suburbs were ranked as the most debt-ridden cities in Texas in a recent LendingTree study.

>>>Click through the photos to see which ... more Photo: Johnson Development Corp. Photo: Johnson Development Corp. Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Several Houston suburbs ranked most debt-ridden cities in the state, study finds 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Several Houston-area suburbs were ranked as some of the most debt-ridden cities in Texas, according to a recent LendingTree study.

The study found Pearland residents carry the second highest debt load in the state, with residents there carrying an average of $32,468 in non-mortgage debt. Most of that debt can be contributed to auto debt, which accounts for 40 percent of the debt in Pearland, according to the study.

Missouri City, League City and Spring followed not far behind Pearland, rounding out the ranking's top ten cities. Residents in those suburbs carry an average debt of $32,468, $31,666 and $29,491, respectively.

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The study analyzed total debt balances with data from the first quarter of 2019 from over 500,000 LendingTree users in 71 Texas cities with a population of at least 35,000 to calculate median non-mortgage debt obligation. Calculations were made based on student loans, personal loans, credit card balances and auto loans, according to the study.

Keller, a suburb outside of the city of Dallas, was ranked No. 1, with residents there carrying an average of $37,420 in non-mortgage debt. Houston was ranked No. 48 with an average debt load of $21,380 per resident.

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Across the state, about 60 percent of people carry auto debt, 82 percent of people carry credit card debt, 37 percent of people carry personal loan debt and 24 percent carry student loan debt, according to the study. Out of all of the Texas cities but Temple, auto debt was the largest source of non-mortgage debt, while Gen Xers were the generation with the most non-mortgage debt of most of the cities, according to the study.

Click through the photos above for the Houston-area cities ranked the most debt-ridden in Texas...

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com