The city of Phoenix is one of the cities with the most debt in the country, according to a new study.
Per a study from LendingTree, Phoenix ranks 18th among the 50 largest metropolitan cities for debts held. The average Phoenix resident has a debt surpassing $39,000. That’s higher than the average nonmortgage debt across all 50 of the country’s largest metropolitan cities (about $37,800).
The average Phoenix resident’s income amounts to $79,600 according to Census Bureau data, above the median household income for the rest of the country (over $75,100). The average Phoenix resident debt amount is nearly half of the city’s median income.
LendingTree retrieved its data using anonymized credit reports from around 210,000 users on their platform from April through June of this year across the 50 largest cities. Nonmortgage debt includes auto loans, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, and all other types of debt excluding mortgages.
Nearly 97 percent of consumers in Phoenix have nonmortage loan debts, per the study. That tracks with the debt averages for rest of the 50 most populated metros: on average, 97 percent of residents across all those cities have nonmortage debt.
45 percent of Phoenix residents also have auto loan debt, 85 percent have credit card debt, 24 percent have personal loan debt, and 24 percent have student loan debt.
Phoenix ranked even higher with its average auto loan debt, placing eleventh with the average auto loan debt sitting at nearly $14,000. That’s higher than the average auto loan debt for the state, which amounts to around $6,000. Auto loan debts accounted for the greatest portion of average debts held by Phoenix residents, which is also the case for 26 of the other 50 major metros included in the study.
Average credit card debt in Phoenix amounted to just over $8,200, average personal loan debt amounted to about $4,200, and average student loan debt amounted to over $10,300.
The average Phoenix resident’s credit card debt came out higher than the state’s: the average for all of Arizona amounts to over $6,300.
At the end of last year, Arizona ranked among the top ten states for the highest average unsecured personal loan debts: around $12,300. Arizona also ranked among the top 20 for highest average household debt increases from last year to this year: an increase of over $700, making total household debt in the state amount to over $429.6 billion.
The city’s student loan debt is lower than that of the state. As a whole, the state has an average student loan debt of nearly $35,700, with about 902,600 borrowers living in the state.
Phoenix was the only metro city from Arizona listed on the top-50 ranking by LendingTree.
The top three cities for debts held were all in Texas: Austin, San Antonio, and Houston, in order of highest to lowest.
The three cities with the lowest amounts of debt, in order from least to greatest, were: San Jose, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Over Veteran’s Day weekend, personal-finance website WalletHub released a ranking of the Best and Worst Places for Veterans to live. And the state of Arizona was represented by seven of our cities.
According to WalletHub, the rankings were based on a series of “19 key indicators of livability, affordability and veteran-friendliness,” including the availability of jobs related to military skill-sets, records of veteran income growth over time, and the availability of VA Healthcare.
WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo explained, “When veterans return home from serving our nation, it’s important for them to live in a place that provides good education and employment opportunities, along with access to quality care for their physical and mental health. The best cities for veterans have all these characteristics, plus added bonuses like large veteran populations for community support, plus many restaurants and entertainment venues that offer veteran discounts.”
All told, the seven Arizona cities ranked were, in order: Scottsdale, leading at #7; Gilbert at #15; Chandler at #16; Mesa at #29; Glendale at #44; Tucson at #62; and finally, Phoenix came in at #75.
Gilbert and Chandler ranked 2nd and 5th, respectively, for the lowest percentage of veterans in poverty. Otherwise the state failed to rank in the top 5 of the study’s focus areas.
Essentially, this places Arizona firmly in the middling range of neither the worst nor the best.
While cities like the top five: Austin, TX; Orlando, FL; Raleigh, NC; Tampa, FL; and Virginia Beach, VA, have cause to celebrate the ranking, the release could leave Arizonans asking questions.
As of late 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau, cited by ABC15, recorded that there were 454,620 veterans of the Armed Forces living in the state or approximately 62 of every 1,000 adults, ranking us at 13th in the nation statistically.
By concentration, most resided in Sun City and Sun City West, Sun Lakes, Carefree, Apache Junction, and Union Hills.
Over a third served during the Vietnam War, 43% served in either the Cold War period or Gulf War, with just 17% of the veterans in the youngest cohort: those who served in the Global War on Terror. The number who served in Korea and the Second World War are dwindling fast at just 3% and 1%, respectively.
Arizona plays home to defense contractors as Honeywell, Raytheon, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, and Northrup Grumman. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics examined the unemployment figures as of March 20th, specifically targeting veterans, and found that only 47% of those surveyed were employed, while 2.9% were collecting unemployment and a staggering 51% were “not in labor force.” That means they were either on disability, retired, on other benefits, or simply stopped trying to find work. This gives a potential glimpse into why more young veterans aren’t making Arizona their home, and instead serves as a retirement destination.
The nation’s fifth-largest city, Phoenix, is also home to one of the highest eviction rates in the nation.
Rising evictions appear to be a side effect of the city’s burgeoning housing crisis amid a declining economy. A report from the Wall Street Journal released this week highlighted the trend of increased evictions, featuring some of the Phoenicians who underwent evictions recently.
Phoenix has a rate of 16 eviction filings per 100 renter households according to estimates from Eviction Lab, a Princeton University research group that tracks eviction rates in 36 major cities and 10 states across the country.
According to data pulled from American Community Survey and reported by the Eviction Lab, Phoenix has over 583,600 renter households and typical rent averages nearly $1,400 a month.
Per data acquired by Eviction Lab from the Maricopa County Justice Courts, there have been over 285,300 eviction filings since March 2020, with nearly 90,600 of those (31 percent) filed within the past year and over 6,000 (two percent) within the last month. Between January and September, there were nearly 69,000 evictions. Should these evictions keep up with the monthly average of around 7,700 evictions, there would be nearly 92,000 evictions by the year’s end.
There were about 83,200 eviction filings in 2023. The all-time total high for evictions was about 83,700 evictions in 2005. The average eviction judgment from January to September sits at over $3,100, which is less than the $3,400 average of 2023.
Nearly 39,700 of recent years’ evictions were categorized demographically as white neighborhoods, nearly 22,800 were “other” neighborhoods, and over 20,700 were Latino neighborhoods.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told the Wall Street Journal that folks should look to the state for reforms on laws allowing such a high rate of evictions.
“We don’t control evictions,” said Gallego.
The increased evictions may curb the small gains the city has made in reducing its homeless population — an aspect of the fast-growing metropolitan area that also incurred national interest.
Maricopa County’s latest Point-In-Time Homeless Count from January reported over 9,400 individuals as homeless in the Phoenix area, a decline from the January 2023 total of over 9,600.
Earlier this year, we reported that the city had spent over $180 million over the course of three years to address its homeless population.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES) did offer a rental assistance program for families and those over the age of 60 years, but applications closed in August.
ADES also offers resources for emergency short-term housing.
ADES directed those in need of assistance to visit 211, the Short-Term Crisis Services Program, or their local Community Action Agency for other support services.
Community Action Agencies can provide utility or mortgage assistance, eviction or foreclosure prevention assistance, rental deposits, and emergency shelter. ADES warned that these agencies are currently experiencing high demand.
Maricopa County has five Community Action Agencies with multiple locations providing various assistance: Maricopa County Human Services, City of Glendale Community Action Programs, City of Phoenix Human Services, City of Phoenix Family Services Centers, and Mesa Community Action Network.
Those interested in knowing which health and human services programs they qualify for may use the Arizona Self Help questionnaire.
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An Arizona State Senator is standing against an outrageous depiction of President Donald J. Trump.
Last week, Senator Janae Shamp, a Republican, issued a press release to “condemn the obscene nude statue of President Donald Trump that was hung from a crane in Las Vegas and reappeared most recently in Phoenix.”
In a statement, Shamp said, “How anyone could possibly believe this political stunt is anything more than sick and deplorable is beyond me. Many Americans have recently lost their lives or livelihoods in large areas of our country as a result of hurricane Helene. Our federal government has run out of aid money to assist them after spending nearly $1billion in FEMA funding to aid illegal immigration and the Biden-Harris open border crisis.”
Shamp added, “Hardworking families are struggling to put food on the table because of inflation. American citizens are dying every single day from consuming deadly fentanyl that’s trafficked into our country. Need I say more? We need solutions, and we need unity in this country right now, not dangerous and deplorable political theater. This ‘project’ is a shameful use of anyone’s resources and needs to end now.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A Phoenix public school district has come under fire after the Goldwater Institute revealed it’s Governing Board and Administrative Team were treated to a three-day $4,000 per person “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) conference at a Napa Valley wine country resort. The conference was hosted by the California Association of Black School Educators.
According to the report released by the Goldwater Institute, the “4th Annual California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) Institute,” was held at the posh Meritage Resort and Spa, where off-season rooms run about $400 per night between July 14 – 17. The Creighton Elementary School District Governing Board and Administrative Team reportedly enjoyed the offerings of the conference, which included, “a five-hour ‘Chairman’s Soiree’ at a local winery, where participants were bussed in to enjoy wine and haute cuisine.” According to a post on LinkedIn, registration for education leaders was $850 per person.
Taxpayer-funded wine tastings? School leaders splurge on glitzy DEI conference: https://t.co/M1o1FGTClt
The theme of the conference, “Black to Basics, Root Causes, Interventions” is an overtly race-driven plan to “foster collaborative action among California education professionals committed to advancing equity for Black students.”
The agenda for the convention was conspicuously absent from the CABSE website, however, based upon the 2023 offerings we can glean an understanding of the likely content.
In 2023, the conference offered:
“A Whole Village Approach to Equity,”
“Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning,” and
“Equity in Mental Health.”
Images posted to X by the ‘UCLA Center for the Transformation of School’ taken at the conference showed presentations from CTS Project Director Dr. Stanley L. Johnson, Jr. entitled “What Are Your Basics For Black Students?” and “The Machinery of Improvement: Practices, Policies, and Advocacy”
Creighton Elementary School District Governing Board documentation located by AZ Free News confirmed that the Governing Board officially approved the trip during its April 16 Regular Board meeting. The document noted:
“Governing Board members and staff from the superintendent’s office are requesting permission to attend the 4th Annual California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) Institute to be held in Napa, California, July 14-17, 2024, at a cost of approximately $3,800-4,000 per person. The CABSE Institute Is a three-day convening designed to foster collaborative action among education professionals committed to advancing equity for Black students. This conference is a unique gathering of board members, district superintendents, administration officials, teachers, leaders, and decision makers from across the nation. “
At the same meeting, the district’s personnel action report revealed that over fifty educators resigned effective May 24 with the vast majority described as for “personal” reasons.
During the August 6th Governing Board Meeting, Board Member Katie Gipson McLean reported on the conference, saying it was, “a cool, fun conference to go to,” and adding that “they’re encouraging people to be candid and open and honest and have these larger conversations among the group about issues that are impacting specifically black and brown youth.”
Board President Sophia Carrillo summarized the conference stating, “Their theme was ‘Black to Basics’ and it was just awesome to know that we were in a conference where that it was aligned with our goals. Right? One of our goals is our zero percent black students in grade will pass the math standardized test. And to be in a room full of doctors, educator professionals, Superintendents, school board members from California knowing that this is an issue that’s happening statewide. And they also are having these conversations in their local governing board meetings and making sure that our students that are, you know, that are most vulnerable are getting the attention and the resources that they need was just awesome. A lot of good networking from there to hopefully bring into the school district as well.”
The Goldwater Institute wrote “Plenty of unanswered questions about this year’s event remain. In a three-day conference, why was only 9.25 hours committed to substantive conference content (the sessions where one would qualify for continuing education credit), compared to 22.25 hours spent on ‘networking’ events like the winery soiree.
Why are officials from a Phoenix school district attending a California state education DEI conference with a clear California focus? And why is the district—in which 80% of students fail to meet proficiency levels in reading (across all races combined)—narrowly focusing resources toward a single racial demographic to the exclusion of others, while apparently deprioritizing the 80% of students who are Hispanic or Asian, for instance?”
The institute added, “The district should also produce a detailed conference agenda, a list of all persons attending the conference (the entire governing board and the superintendent’s cabinet were approved to attend), and receipts for all relevant travel expenses, in addition to divulging whether any attendees brought guests to enjoy this taxpayer-funded vacation.”
