Exactly how many cards are manageable varies from person to person and state to state, though. Having multiple cards in your wallet can help you boost your credit score if you use them responsibly, but they can also lead to the temptation to overspend. The average American has around 5 credit cards, according to WalletHub’s research.
To determine the states where credit card ownership is increasing the most, WalletHub analyzed our latest finance data across four key metrics: the average number of cards owned per person, the average number of new cards opened per person in Q3 2024, and the percent change in both of those numbers from Q3 2023.
“Having multiple credit cards in your wallet can be good for your credit score as long as you spend responsibly, keep your credit utilization low and always pay on time. For example, you can use different credit cards for different purposes, such as separating charges you want to finance from everyday purchases. But if you regularly miss payments or spend beyond your means, you may have too many credit cards.”
Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
Main Findings
115050
State | Rank |
---|---|
Alaska | 1 |
South Dakota | 2 |
New Jersey | 3 |
Montana | 4 |
North Carolina | 5 |
South Carolina | 6 |
Pennsylvania | 7 |
Connecticut | 8 |
Arizona | 9 |
Nevada | 10 |
Maine | 11 |
Texas | 12 |
Indiana | 13 |
Tennessee | 14 |
Virginia | 15 |
Georgia | 16 |
Rhode Island | 17 |
Florida | 18 |
Arkansas | 19 |
Alabama | 20 |
Delaware | 21 |
Nebraska | 22 |
Maryland | 23 |
California | 24 |
New York | 25 |
New Hampshire | 26 |
Kentucky | 27 |
Mississippi | 28 |
New Mexico | 29 |
Missouri | 30 |
Michigan | 31 |
Idaho | 32 |
Oklahoma | 33 |
West Virginia | 34 |
Massachusetts | 35 |
Louisiana | 36 |
Washington | 37 |
Minnesota | 38 |
Oregon | 39 |
Utah | 40 |
Vermont | 41 |
Ohio | 42 |
Wisconsin | 43 |
Illinois | 44 |
Kansas | 45 |
Hawaii | 46 |
Colorado | 47 |
North Dakota | 48 |
Iowa | 49 |
Wyoming | 50 |
States with the Most Credit Cards
Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Number of Credit Cards Rank | Increase in Number of Credit Cards Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alaska | 75.93 | 1 | 3 |
2 | South Dakota | 67.11 | 10 | 1 |
3 | New Jersey | 60.74 | 2 | 25 |
4 | Montana | 60.12 | 23 | 2 |
5 | North Carolina | 58.45 | 6 | 11 |
6 | South Carolina | 58.26 | 15 | 5 |
7 | Pennsylvania | 57.13 | 13 | 9 |
8 | Connecticut | 55.18 | 7 | 18 |
9 | Arizona | 54.94 | 11 | 16 |
10 | Nevada | 54.45 | 3 | 30 |
11 | Maine | 53.63 | 24 | 4 |
12 | Texas | 53.25 | 16 | 19 |
13 | Indiana | 53.03 | 20 | 6 |
14 | Tennessee | 53.01 | 19 | 7 |
15 | Virginia | 52.87 | 9 | 21 |
16 | Georgia | 52.84 | 12 | 20 |
17 | Rhode Island | 52.51 | 8 | 23 |
18 | Florida | 51.07 | 4 | 36 |
19 | Arkansas | 50.27 | 27 | 12 |
20 | Alabama | 49.91 | 28 | 8 |
21 | Delaware | 49.61 | 17 | 28 |
22 | Nebraska | 49.38 | 25 | 14 |
23 | Maryland | 48.61 | 14 | 32 |
24 | California | 47.15 | 18 | 34 |
25 | New York | 46.71 | 5 | 43 |
26 | New Hampshire | 46.34 | 21 | 22 |
27 | Kentucky | 46.27 | 32 | 15 |
28 | Mississippi | 45.09 | 43 | 10 |
29 | New Mexico | 43.31 | 45 | 13 |
30 | Missouri | 42.02 | 29 | 27 |
31 | Michigan | 41.57 | 33 | 26 |
32 | Idaho | 40.66 | 36 | 24 |
33 | Oklahoma | 39.92 | 47 | 17 |
34 | West Virginia | 38.34 | 30 | 37 |
35 | Massachusetts | 37.74 | 22 | 44 |
36 | Louisiana | 37.67 | 41 | 29 |
37 | Washington | 36.68 | 31 | 41 |
38 | Minnesota | 36.43 | 34 | 39 |
39 | Oregon | 36.35 | 40 | 33 |
40 | Utah | 36.18 | 44 | 31 |
41 | Vermont | 35.77 | 26 | 46 |
42 | Ohio | 35.51 | 38 | 38 |
43 | Wisconsin | 35.27 | 42 | 35 |
44 | Illinois | 34.78 | 35 | 42 |
45 | Kansas | 33.83 | 39 | 40 |
46 | Hawaii | 31.59 | 37 | 48 |
47 | Colorado | 28.53 | 46 | 45 |
48 | North Dakota | 25.79 | 48 | 49 |
49 | Iowa | 18.16 | 50 | 47 |
50 | Wyoming | 17.97 | 49 | 50 |
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
In-Depth Look at the States with the Most Credit Cards
Alaska
Alaska ranks first, in part because its residents opened an average of 1.4 cards during Q3 2024, more than people in any other state. Alaskans also opened 5.06% more new credit cards in Q3 2024 than they did in Q3 2023. In comparison, residents in the majority of states saw a year-over-year decrease. In addition, the average Alaskan owns 5.2 credit cards.
The big question is whether Alaskans are using their new cards primarily for credit building, rewards and responsible financing or to spend beyond their means. At first glance, it may seem like the latter, since Alaska residents have the second-highest average credit card debt overall. However, Alaska has very few residents who are in financial distress, and its residents have good credit, on average. Therefore, it seems like they can handle the large number of cards, for the moment at least.
South Dakota
South Dakota ranks second overall, as the average South Dakotan owns 5.2 credit cards. The state’s residents also added credit cards at a faster rate than people in any other state during the past year, with the average number of cards per person increasing by 8.4%. There are no signs of slowing down, either – residents added an average of 1.3 cards to their wallets during Q3 2024, the third-most in the country.
The good news is that South Dakota residents have a very low amount of credit card debt and are increasing their debt at one of the slowest rates in the country. As a result, opening new credit cards is more likely to help South Dakotans than hurt them, as it lowers their credit utilization seemingly without tempting them to spend more.
New Jersey
New Jersey residents actually own more credit cards per person (6.1) than people in any other state. However, the state ranks third in our study due to the fact that residents have recently slowed down on opening cards. New Jerseyans opened 0.8% fewer new cards during Q3 2024 than they did in Q3 2023. In comparison, 28 states had either an increase or a smaller decrease. In addition, New Jersey had only the 23rd-highest year-over-year increase in the total number of credit cards owned per person.
Given that New Jerseyans have a high number of credit cards, it’s unsurprising that they also have the fourth-highest household credit card debt levels in the country. New Jersey is also in the top 10 states where people are increasing that debt the fastest.
Methodology
In order to determine the states with the most credit cards, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions: 1) Number of Credit Cards and 2) Increase in Number of Credit Cards.
We evaluated those dimensions using 4 relevant metrics listed below with their corresponding weights, each metric being graded on a 100-point scale.
Finally, we determined each state's weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Number of Credit Cards – Total Points: 50
- Average Credit Cards Opened in Q3 2024: Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
- Average Credit Cards Owned in Q3 2024: Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
Increase in Number of Credit Cards - Total Points: 50
- % Change in Average New Credit Cards Opened (Q3 2024 vs. Q3 2023): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
- % Change in Average Credit Cards Owned (Q3 2024 vs. Q3 2023): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
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Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of November 30, 2024 from WalletHub database.