Mapped: Where in California do folks borrow the most for autos?
Who’s got the biggest auto loan debts in California?
LendingTree, an online loan-shopping service, attempted to answer that question by studying the aggregated finances of its customers in 165 of the larger California cities. Granted, it’s one company’s client base — and those folks are loan shoppers. Still, it’s a glimpse into who’s borrowing and how much, city-by-city.
When my trusty spreadsheet looked at the auto loan data (average balances, how many folks carry a car payment and its share of non-mortgage debts), it found the biggest debts mostly were in communities known for long commutes and little auto borrowing in urban locales.
Statewide, 54% of large-city California households had an auto loan. The 165-city median auto debt was $11,730 — borrowings that equaled 39% of the average $30,456 in overall non-mortgage debts across California. (That’s credit cards, personal loans and educational debts.)
Ranking cities and their debt:
No. 1: Yorba Linda residents average auto debt is $25,615. That’s loans found in 59% of its households. These borrowings equal 46% of an average $55,229 in overall non-mortgage debts — No. 1 in loans outstanding statewide.
No. 2: Santa Clarita at $21,672 for 67% of residents. That’s 47% of $46,466 in all debts — No. 2 among big cities.
No. 3: Temecula at $18,753 for 65% of residents. It’s 41% of $45,584 in all debts — No. 3 statewide.
No. 4: Murrieta at $17,752 for 64% of residents. That’s 43% of $40,978 in all debts — No. 4 among big cities.
No. 5: Gilroy at $17,420 for 56% of residents. It’s 47% of $36,836 in all debts — No. 18 statewide.
No. 6: San Clemente at $17,204 for 60% of residents. That’s 44% of $38,994 in all debts — No. 9 among big cities.
No. 7: Hanford at $17,202 for 63% of residents. It’s 49% of $34,992 in all debts — No. 30 statewide.
No. 8: Newport Beach at $16,801 for 59% of residents. That’s 44% of $38,552 in all debts — No. 11 among big cities.
No. 9: Vacaville at $16,440 for 58% of residents. It’s 43% of $38,108 in all debts — No. 13 statewide.
No. 10: Tulare at $16,279 for 59% of residents. That’s 49% of $33,530 in all debts — No. 47 among big cities.
No. 11: Yucaipa at $16,135 for 62% of residents. It’s 44% of $36,390 in all debts — No. 20 statewide.
No. 12: Laguna Niguel at $15,991 for 59% of residents. That’s 42% of $38,075 in all debts — No. 14 among big cities.
No. 13: Thousand Oaks at $15,863 for 63% of residents — No. 4 in the state. It’s 41% of $38,587 in all debts — No. 10 statewide.
No. 14: Rancho Cucamonga at $15,832 for 61% of residents — No. 12 in California. That’s 40% of $40,052 in all debts — No. 7 among big cities.
No. 15: Hesperia at $15,489 for 59% of residents — No. 29 in the state. It’s 50% of $31,134 in all debts — No. 72 statewide.
Compare those debt levels to the cities with the lowest auto loan amounts.
Last is San Francisco with $5,537 in auto debt held by 31% of its residents. That debt is 20% of the city’s norm of $27,170 in overall non-mortgage debts — No. 134 statewide.
Next lowest is Berkeley at $6,510 for 37% of residents. That’s 20% of $31,803 in all debts — No. 65 among big cities. Then comes Santa Monica with $6,746 held by 44% of residents. It’s 24% of $28,285 in all debts — No. 115 statewide.