(NewsNation) — Alaska came out on top as the state where people had the most credit cards in 2024, with Wyoming coming in last.
A study by WalletHub compared the number of credit cards owned and opened towards the last half of the year in 50 states and found that Alaska, South Dakota, New Jersey, Montana and North Carolina came in as the top five.
Wyoming, Iowa, North Dakota, Colorado and Hawaii came with people having the least credit cards.
The average American has around 5 credit cards, according to WalletHub.
The company compiled these results using 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.
“Q3” stands for the third quarter of a fiscal or calendar year and is the period of time from July 1 to September 30.
Alaska ranked first, in part, because residents opened an average of 1.4 cards during Q3, more than people in any other state. The average resident owns 5.2 credit cards, according to WalletHub.
While the state has the second-highest average credit card debt overall, Alaska has very few residents who are in “financial distress,” signaling that they are largely responsible with the cards, the company stated.
South Dakota residents own 5.2 credit cards on average, and they have 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%.
Despite the increase, South Dakotans have a very low amount of credit card debt and are increasing their debt at one of the slowest rates in the country, WalletHub reported.