Do you live in a city where everyone spends more than 50% of their take-home pay on car loans? [Study]
It starts off as a happy-go-lucky scene: Rolling off the lot in a new (or used) vehicle, looking fresh, feeling luxurious, and thinking you’ve just made a huge upgrade. The payments seem manageable at first. Then reality sets in. Each month, the car loan eats up a bigger slice of take-home pay than groceries, healthcare, or utilities. For many Americans, this isn’t just a far-off theoretical. It’s their daunting reality.
A new WalletHub study shows how deeply car loan debt cuts into household budgets across the U.S.
The financial site reviewed more than 2,500 cities, measuring median auto-loan balances against median incomes. The results revealed a clear warning: in more than 160 cities, drivers spend half or more of their yearly income on car loans alone.
That burden comes as this particular debt keeps climbing nationwide.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, car loan balances grew by $13 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
Sales have been sluggish, up only about 2 percent in 2024 compared to the year before, but lenders are still writing bigger notes.
Analysts explained that inflation, rising retail prices, and economic uncertainty have pushed buyers into loans that strain budgets.
Some of the hardest-hit cities are in Texas
Rio Grande City leads the list, where the median auto-loan balance is nearly equal to median income: $32,173 in debt versus $33,782 in earnings. That’s a 95% debt-to-income ratio.
Nearby towns like Donna, Mercedes, San Juan, and Brownsville all land in the danger zone as well. Uvalde, Eagle Pass, and Pharr also show residents committing well over two-thirds of their annual income to car notes.
This pattern extends beyond Texas
Northglenn, Colorado, reports a 90% ratio, while Jackson, Georgia, sits at 84%. Bastrop, Louisiana, checks in at 79%.
Cities in Mississippi, New Mexico, Florida, and Arizona also make WalletHub’s high-risk roster.
Here’s the list of cities where the car loan debt-to-income ratio is higher than 50%:
| City | State | Median auto-loan debt | Median income | Debt-to-income ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Grande City | TX | $32,173 | $33,782 | 95% |
| Northglenn | CO | $50,124 | $55,715 | 90% |
| Donna | TX | $27,828 | $31,203 | 89% |
| Mercedes | TX | $27,351 | $32,248 | 85% |
| Jackson | GA | $23,009 | $27,365 | 84% |
| Bastrop | LA | $23,515 | $29,750 | 79% |
| San Juan | TX | $29,419 | $38,841 | 76% |
| San Benito | TX | $25,068 | $35,269 | 71% |
| Deming | NM | $26,625 | $37,987 | 70% |
| Uvalde | TX | $26,896 | $39,075 | 69% |
| Eagle Pass | TX | $27,902 | $40,768 | 68% |
| Pharr | TX | $27,269 | $40,566 | 67% |
| Tolleson | AZ | $23,143 | $34,597 | 67% |
| Alice | TX | $28,619 | $42,868 | 67% |
| Brownsville | TX | $26,612 | $40,061 | 66% |
| Douglas | GA | $25,460 | $38,448 | 66% |
| Abbeville | LA | $23,259 | $35,558 | 65% |
| Laurel | MS | $21,070 | $32,430 | 65% |
| Quincy | FL | $21,541 | $33,407 | 64% |
| Vicksburg | MS | $24,579 | $38,309 | 64% |
| Marshall | TX | $23,894 | $37,301 | 64% |
| Paris | TX | $24,171 | $38,015 | 64% |
| Laredo | TX | $26,780 | $42,164 | 64% |
| Jacksonville | TX | $22,557 | $35,587 | 63% |
| Alamo | TX | $27,323 | $43,129 | 63% |
| Leesville | LA | $24,759 | $39,222 | 63% |
| Lucedale | MS | $24,856 | $39,444 | 63% |
| Weslaco | TX | $28,974 | $45,981 | 63% |
| Mission | TX | $29,622 | $47,120 | 63% |
| Richmond | TX | $24,256 | $39,537 | 61% |
| Live Oak | FL | $24,444 | $39,974 | 61% |
| Brookhaven | MS | $22,532 | $36,884 | 61% |
| Nacogdoches | TX | $23,214 | $38,173 | 61% |
| Kilgore | TX | $25,622 | $42,436 | 60% |
| Plainview | TX | $26,093 | $43,321 | 60% |
| Arcadia | FL | $23,282 | $38,698 | 60% |
| Livingston | TX | $23,620 | $39,675 | 60% |
| Cleveland | TX | $25,004 | $42,192 | 59% |
| Opa-locka | FL | $21,109 | $35,640 | 59% |
| Natchez | MS | $24,084 | $40,725 | 59% |
| Canton | MS | $20,476 | $34,758 | 59% |
| Desert Hot Springs | CA | $23,004 | $39,085 | 59% |
| Willis | TX | $24,245 | $41,577 | 58% |
| Edinburg | TX | $28,631 | $49,189 | 58% |
| Raeford | NC | $23,268 | $40,000 | 58% |
| Brunswick | GA | $21,841 | $37,658 | 58% |
| Greenwood | MS | $20,667 | $35,678 | 58% |
| Ruston | LA | $18,783 | $32,466 | 58% |
| Moultrie | GA | $22,753 | $39,351 | 58% |
| Coachella | CA | $23,961 | $41,497 | 58% |
| Selma | AL | $20,924 | $36,342 | 58% |
| Morristown | TN | $23,163 | $40,316 | 57% |
| Fredericksburg | TX | $23,944 | $41,737 | 57% |
| San Luis | AZ | $23,036 | $40,258 | 57% |
| Avon Park | FL | $20,603 | $36,083 | 57% |
| Waycross | GA | $20,968 | $36,801 | 57% |
| Corsicana | TX | $24,712 | $43,466 | 57% |
| Carlsbad | NM | $33,422 | $58,828 | 57% |
| Palestine | TX | $23,565 | $41,494 | 57% |
| Del Rio | TX | $27,460 | $48,429 | 57% |
| Delano | CA | $23,438 | $41,380 | 57% |
| Gadsden | AL | $20,436 | $36,088 | 57% |
| Harlingen | TX | $25,002 | $44,420 | 56% |
| Manchester | TN | $22,373 | $39,813 | 56% |
| Moss Point | MS | $22,801 | $40,578 | 56% |
| Lake City | FL | $23,092 | $41,418 | 56% |
| Picayune | MS | $20,741 | $37,235 | 56% |
| Bell Gardens | CA | $20,301 | $36,455 | 56% |
| Odessa | TX | $31,339 | $56,325 | 56% |
| Homestead | FL | $23,203 | $41,828 | 55% |
| Maywood | CA | $19,866 | $35,831 | 55% |
| Darlington | SC | $17,701 | $31,946 | 55% |
| Mount Pleasant | TX | $19,933 | $36,092 | 55% |
| Lawton | OK | $22,044 | $39,964 | 55% |
| Humble | TX | $23,432 | $42,496 | 55% |
| Cordele | GA | $19,768 | $35,985 | 55% |
| Kissimmee | FL | $20,258 | $37,069 | 55% |
| Dahlonega | GA | $20,810 | $38,086 | 55% |
| Rosenberg | TX | $24,876 | $45,627 | 55% |
| Lehigh Acres | FL | $23,340 | $42,832 | 54% |
| Dinuba | CA | $23,598 | $43,348 | 54% |
| Fort Pierce | FL | $20,964 | $38,550 | 54% |
| San Angelo | TX | $25,735 | $47,331 | 54% |
| Henderson | TX | $25,576 | $47,204 | 54% |
| Lynwood | CA | $21,922 | $40,472 | 54% |
| Stone Mountain | GA | $19,499 | $36,014 | 54% |
| Lauderdale Lakes | FL | $19,179 | $35,471 | 54% |
| McAllen | TX | $26,006 | $48,156 | 54% |
| Haines City | FL | $21,941 | $40,641 | 54% |
| Roswell | NM | $22,913 | $42,449 | 54% |
| Crosby | TX | $27,539 | $51,042 | 54% |
| Meridian | MS | $21,116 | $39,209 | 54% |
| Griffin | GA | $20,913 | $38,896 | 54% |
| Opelousas | LA | $22,091 | $41,100 | 54% |
| Palmetto Estates | FL | $22,980 | $42,971 | 53% |
| Milton | FL | $22,167 | $41,531 | 53% |
| Lumberton | NC | $23,020 | $43,139 | 53% |
| Bay City | TX | $25,542 | $47,904 | 53% |
| Gonzales | LA | $25,123 | $47,141 | 53% |
| Ponca City | OK | $23,050 | $43,418 | 53% |
| Somerset | KY | $19,884 | $37,488 | 53% |
| Bell | CA | $21,484 | $40,511 | 53% |
| Okeechobee | FL | $22,640 | $42,795 | 53% |
| Crossville | TN | $21,552 | $40,787 | 53% |
| Huntsville | TX | $22,455 | $42,614 | 53% |
| McDonough | GA | $27,178 | $51,637 | 53% |
| Seguin | TX | $24,815 | $47,195 | 53% |
| Lexington | NC | $19,901 | $37,887 | 53% |
| Kingsville | TX | $25,704 | $48,992 | 52% |
| San Marcos | TX | $21,361 | $40,733 | 52% |
| Orange | TX | $25,504 | $48,728 | 52% |
| Gallup | NM | $24,136 | $46,255 | 52% |
| Stephenville | TX | $24,738 | $47,493 | 52% |
| Covington | GA | $22,010 | $42,274 | 52% |
| McComb | MS | $19,337 | $37,295 | 52% |
| Troy | AL | $19,569 | $37,786 | 52% |
| Palatka | FL | $21,136 | $40,857 | 52% |
| Clovis | NM | $23,644 | $45,717 | 52% |
| Channelview | TX | $24,057 | $46,567 | 52% |
| Dublin | GA | $21,883 | $42,369 | 52% |
| Sulphur Springs | TX | $23,387 | $45,350 | 52% |
| Princeton | WV | $21,501 | $41,743 | 52% |
| Hialeah | FL | $20,610 | $40,026 | 51% |
| Plant City | FL | $23,209 | $45,093 | 51% |
| Hinesville | GA | $22,399 | $43,523 | 51% |
| Davenport | FL | $21,030 | $40,890 | 51% |
| El Paso | TX | $23,002 | $44,742 | 51% |
| Cleburne | TX | $22,283 | $43,375 | 51% |
| Dunnellon | FL | $21,026 | $41,065 | 51% |
| Ellijay | GA | $22,427 | $43,831 | 51% |
| Harvey | LA | $22,679 | $44,377 | 51% |
| Miami Gardens | FL | $21,134 | $41,449 | 51% |
| Lawrenceville | GA | $21,552 | $42,280 | 51% |
| Huntington Park | CA | $19,039 | $37,431 | 51% |
| Gainesville | GA | $21,301 | $41,884 | 51% |
| Orangeburg | SC | $19,829 | $38,996 | 51% |
| Bryan | TX | $23,034 | $45,303 | 51% |
| Paragould | AR | $22,752 | $44,785 | 51% |
| Pine Bluff | AR | $19,890 | $39,312 | 51% |
| Tahlequah | OK | $20,738 | $41,001 | 51% |
| Henderson | NC | $19,751 | $39,063 | 51% |
| North Miami Beach | FL | $20,461 | $40,510 | 51% |
Many residents already juggle mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and rising living costs
Adding a hefty car note pushes budgets to the breaking point. Missed payments can quickly lead to repossession, leaving families without transportation to get to work or school.
The takeaways here are fairly straightforward, but somehow tough for many car buyers to actually follow: shop smart. Opt for reliable used vehicles, save upfront where possible, and calculate payments before signing. The thrill of new wheels fades fast, but the hurt of a damaging car loan can linger for years.
