drowning in debt

Texas billed top-10 rank in new report of states dealing with most debt

Everything's bigger here — including the spending.

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It's not too late to rein in that holiday spending, Texas. A new financial report has revealed Texas is the No. 9 state with the highest debt levels in the country.

The report by personal finance website CreditDonkey examined each state's average mortgage debt, student debt, automobile debt, and credit card debt. Rankings were determined based on which state had the highest amount of debt.

Texas was ranked so highly due to its rampant amount of auto loan debt, the most out of all 50 states. Over 100 million Texans have loans on their cars, which has racked up more than $1.5 trillion in auto loan debt. The average Texan's auto loan debt stands at $27,739.

Texans' higher-than-average credit card debt was also a major factor, according to the report. The average credit card debt amount adds up to $6,542.

The average mortgage debt in the Lone Star State is $217,461, while the average student debt amounts to $33,354. For a house-rich city like Dallas, affording a starter home will cost residents 10.6 percent more than it did in 2022.

While Texas' level of debt is no laughing matter, residents can find some relief in the fact that they're not living in California. Californians have the most debt in America, with the average mortgage debt at nearly $423,000 per household, and an average student loan debt of $37,384. Any Texans considering relocating might want to rethink their choice with that level of debt on the horizon.

CreditDonkey Director of Research Anna Ge explained the "multifaceted story" of why debt in Texas (and overall in the United States) has skyrocketed over the years.

"The causes for the surge in debt are rooted in a confluence of factors – from the pursuit of higher education to home-ownership aspirations and the challenges of rising costs across the board," she said. "The ease of access to credit, while providing immediate relief, has contributed to a culture where spending can outpace income."

Population growth and consumerism are two other driving factors, according to Ge.

"There are also more deep-rooted issues that are causing such drastic increases in debt, from rising costs of essentials such as gas and groceries, to healthcare and living expenses (rent and bills), as costs continue to rise many Americans are being pushed to the edge and require relief that inevitably results in the building up of debt," Ge continued.

The top 10 states struggling with the most debt are:

No. 1 – California
No. 2 – Hawaii
No. 3 – Maryland
No. 4 – Alaska
No. 5 – Colorado
No. 6 – Washington
No. 7 – Virginia
No. 8 – Georgia
No. 9 – Texas
No. 10 – Nevada

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Dallas than it did last year

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A 2026 income study has good news for big earners in Dallas: A six-figure salary goes further than it did last year.

A Dallasite's $100,000 salary is worth $80,103 after taxes and adjusted for the local cost of living, according to the new financial analysis from SmartAsset. That's nearly 4 percent higher than last year, when the same salary had an adjusted value of $77,197.

Six-figure earners in Plano also got a slight — 2 percent — value boost to their salaries this year, the report revealed. A $100,000 salary in Plano is worth $72,653, compared to $71,372 last year.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities. The figure was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services). Cities were then ranked based on where a six-figure salary is worth the least after applicable taxes and cost of living adjustments.

Plano ranked 27th and Dallas ranked 47th in the overall ranking of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least.

If the rankings were flipped and the cities were ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest, that places Dallas in the No. 22 spot and Plano as No. 43 nationally.

Manhattan, New York remains the No. 1 city where a six-figure salary is worth the least. A Manhattan resident's take-home pay is only worth $29,420 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living, which is 3.10 percent lower than it was in 2025.

SmartAsset determined Manhattan has a 29.7 percent effective tax rate on six-figure salaries. Meanwhile, the effective tax rate on a $100,000 salary in Texas (based on the eight cities examined in the report) is 21.1 percent. It's worth highlighting that New York implements a statewide graduated-rate income tax from 4-10.90 percent, whereas Texas is one of only eight states that don't tax residents' income.

Oklahoma City, No. 69, is the U.S. city in the report where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest. A six-figure salary is worth $91,868 in 2026, up from $89,989 last year.

This is the post-tax value of a $100,000 salary in other Texas cities, and their ranking in the report:

Austin (No. 53): $82,446
Lubbock (No. 59): $84,567
Houston (No. 60): $84,840
San Antonio (No. 62): $86,419
El Paso (No. 67): $90,276
Corpus Christi (No. 68): $91,110

According to the report, getting some "financial breathing room" by making six-figures really depends on where someone lives and what their lifestyle is. For residents living in the 42 states that levy some amount of income tax, their take-home pay dwindles further.

"And depending on how taxes are filed, reaching a $100,000 income may push a household from the 22 percent to 24 percent marginal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "Meanwhile, locations with high costs across housing and everyday essentials may be less forgiving to a $100,000 income."

smartasset income finance six figures

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Dallas than it did last year