Sign In
Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
Survey: Charleston baby boomers doing their fair share of borrowing
Staff Report //March 28, 2019//
Listen to this articleIt looks like millennials aren’t the only ones buying avocado toast.
Millennials might be walking around with an average of $23,000 in non-mortgage debt, according to a LendingTree study, but baby boomers in the Holy City are carrying nearly $5,000 more — that's about 625 more delicious toasts' worth, by our highly unscientific count.
The Charleston area sits at No. 12 among 100 U.S. cities for the most debt-laden baby boomers, with an average of $28,000 in non-mortgage debt (car loans, credit cards and personal loans, mostly), according to LendingTree. That $23,000 total above? That's just the average for the top 50 U.S. cities — a list Charleston's millennials aren't even on.
Columbia's boomers ranked No. 16 nationally, carrying about $27,000 in debt, and Greenville ranked No. 96, with boomers carrying $21,800 in debt.
The national median for baby boomer debt was about $25,000.
Cities where baby boomers carry the most debt:
| Rank | City | Debt |
| 1 | Houston | $31,626 |
| 2 | Little Rock, Ark. | $30,767 |
| 3 | San Antonio | $29,985 |
| 4 | Dallas | $29,736 |
| 5 | Oklahoma City | $29,602 |
| 6 | McAllen, Texas | $29,351 |
| 7 | Austin, Texas | $29,157 |
| 8 | Baton Rouge, La. | $28,853 |
| 9 | Washington | $28,634 |
| 10 | Fresno, Calif. | $28,166 |
| 11 | Bakersfield, Calif. | $28,139 |
| 12 | Charleston | $27,968 |
Source: LendingTree.com
