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Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 11:50 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA FOR 30+ YRS

First Published & Printed in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA FOR OVER 30 YEARS!

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.

chip lupo

“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

StateRank
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 StateTotal 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.