Americans’ debt burden continues to climb, with total balances across auto loans, credit cards, and personal loans now surpassing $2.8 trillion. A new report from WalletHub, Cities Where People Are Adding the Most Debt, sheds light on where consumers are seeing the sharpest increases and what that means for household finances nationwide.
The study analyzed the 100 largest U.S. cities, ranking them by debt increases between the first and second quarters of 2025. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, topped the list for the largest jump in consumer debt, while Des Moines, Iowa, came in last with the smallest increase. Other debt hotspots include Anchorage, Alaska; Laredo, Texas; and Riverside, California. Cities such as San Francisco, Detroit, and Newark saw some of the smallest gains.
The findings come at a time when household debt is growing at a pace far faster than in recent years. According to WalletHub, total household debt increased by $28 billion in Q2 2025 — nearly six times more than the increase seen during the same period in 2024. Despite this surge, the average household debt of $152,653 remains below the all-time high, and the ratio of household debt to assets stands at a relatively healthy 9.57%.
WalletHub analysts caution, however, that rapid debt accumulation paired with high interest rates could strain households. “Increasing the amount of debt you have isn’t always bad, but it becomes a problem when it accumulates too quickly for you to be able to make on-time payments,” a WalletHub expert noted. “With how high interest rates are currently, it’s easy for borrowing to become unsustainable. People in the cities where consumers are adding the most debt should therefore make sure they have a viable payoff plan. The best plan is to focus on paying the highest-interest balances down first while maintaining minimum payments on the rest, then repeating the process until debt-free.”
For Winston-Salem, the numbers are particularly striking. “Winston-Salem had the biggest overall increase in consumer debt during the second quarter of 2025,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst. “The average credit card balance in Winston-Salem increased by nearly 6% from Q1 2025 to Q2 2025 to a total of $9,900, the biggest increase in the country and the fifth-highest average balance. The average Winston-Salemites’ personal loan balance increased by around 3.6% during the same period, the largest increase in the country. In addition, the average auto loan balance in Winston-Salem went up by nearly 4%; this increase was the highest in the nation.”
The full report, including rankings and methodology, is available at WalletHub.com.