With a population of nearly 277,000 people, according to 2020–2021 U.S. census estimates, Buffalo, New York, is the 78th-largest city in the United States. Credit Karma data from Aug. 17, 2022 shows the average overall debt of the 103,801 Credit Karma members who live in Buffalo is $30,480. In this case, overall debt is made up of auto loans, auto leases, student loans, mortgages, credit card balances and medical debt (Click here for the full methodology.)
Read on to see a snapshot of debt in Buffalo.
Overall debt in Buffalo
The 103,801 Credit Karma members living in Buffalo held a combined total debt of about $5.6 billion. The average overall debt for individuals was $30,480, but the median overall debt was only $9,211. This likely means that a small segment of Buffalo residents carry more overall debt than most of the population. The average next payment on that debt is $339.
In contrast, the national average debt for Credit Karma members is $49,454, and the median is $11,223.
Buffalo’s debt dial
Image: buffalodebtgaugeAuto loans, student loans, mortgage and credit card debt in Buffalo
The table below contains averages and medians for different types of debt among Credit Karma members in Buffalo.
| Debt type | Number of Credit Karma members with debt type | Average debt | Median debt | Average next payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto loan | 64,978 | $20,253 | $16,780 | $488 |
| Student loan | 45,578 | $31,687 | $16,426 | $44 |
| Mortgage | 27,533 | $154,142 | $124,418 | $1,209 |
| Credit card | 97,390 | $5,304 | $2,407 | $161 |
So how do residents of Buffalo compare to the national member averages? The table below compares the national average against the averages in Buffalo among Credit Karma members.
| Debt type | National average debt of Credit Karma members | Buffalo member average debt |
|---|---|---|
| Auto loan | $24,042 | $20,253 |
| Student loan | $32,004 | $31,687 |
| Mortgage | $235,194 | $154,142 |
| Credit card | $6,469 | $5,304 |
Overall, Credit Karma members in Buffalo had less debt than the national average across all categories.
How does Buffalo rank against other cities?
We compared averages for Credit Karma members living in the top 100 cities by population according to 2021 U.S. census population estimates.
Out of the top 100 cities, Buffalo has the 97th-highest overall average debt among Credit Karma members. That means that Buffalo has the fourth-lowest overall average debt among Credit Karma members.
Here’s how Buffalo members ranked against the other top 100 cities in America.
- Auto loan debt: 93rd highest
- Credit card debt: 92nd highest
- Student loan debt: 54th highest
- Mortgage debt: 95th highest
Credit, inquiries and past-due accounts in Buffalo
Among Credit Karma members in Buffalo, the average VantageScore 3.0 credit score was 661 and the median was 668, both of which are considered good. The national average VantageScore 3.0 for Credit Karma members was 673, while the median was 682.
Buffalo members had an average of four inquiries on their credit reports, while the national average was 4.2.
Residents of Buffalo average 0.82 accounts that were 30 days past due. The national average is 0.74 accounts.
Methodology
To determine averages across categories of debt — including auto lease, auto loan, credit card, mortgage, student loan, medical and total debt — we analyzed the accounts of about 103,800 Credit Karma members living in Buffalo, New York, who had been active on the site within the last 36 months. Averages were based on information from members’ TransUnion credit reports from the 90 days previous to the data pull, which was on Aug. 17, 2022. For the purposes of this analysis, auto lease, auto loan, credit card, mortgage, medical and student loan debt is defined as any unpaid balances existing on members’ open accounts in aggregate at the time the data was pulled. All numbers in this report were rounded to the nearest whole.
Note that all data for this article were pulled on Aug. 17, 2022.