The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a surge in demand among homebuyers that is only now beginning to show signs of slowing. This historic demand coincided with low borrowing costs, limited housing inventory, and labor and materials bottlenecks that have been hampering new construction. These factors have pushed home values to all-time highs, forcing many buyers to take on mortgages that put them deep in debt.
According to a recent report from Experian, a consumer credit reporting company, American homeowners with a mortgage had an average unpaid balance of $229,242 in 2020. Mortgage debt can be impacted by multiple regional factors, and as a result, the amount of debt American homeowners are paying down varies considerably by state.
Maryland’s average mortgage debt of $274,311 is the highest in the South and seventh highest among all states. Residents of the state are also more likely than average to need to borrow to afford a home. An estimated 71.9% of homeowners in Maryland have a mortgage, the largest share of any state and over 10 percentage points higher than the 61.7% share of homeowners who have a mortgage nationwide.
High mortgage debt and high borrowing rates are due in part to high home values. The typical home in Maryland is worth $332,500, far more than the $240,500 national median home value.
All mortgage debt data used in this story from the 2020 State of Credit Report by Experian, a consumer reporting agency. Average mortgage debt is a measure of the average first mortgage balance per consumer who had an open first mortgage account. Figures for median home value, median household income, homeownership rates, and the share of owner-occupied households with a mortgage came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.
| Rank | State | Average mortgage debt ($) | Median home value ($) | Median household income ($) | Homeowners with a mortgage (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | West Virginia | 128,004 | 124,600 | 48,850 | 46.4 |
| 49 | Mississippi | 135,374 | 128,200 | 45,792 | 49.1 |
| 48 | Indiana | 140,915 | 156,000 | 57,603 | 65.2 |
| 47 | Ohio | 142,293 | 157,200 | 58,642 | 62.1 |
| 46 | Arkansas | 143,066 | 136,200 | 48,952 | 53.0 |
| 45 | Kentucky | 143,329 | 151,700 | 52,295 | 56.9 |
| 44 | Iowa | 146,408 | 158,900 | 61,691 | 59.9 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | 147,538 | 147,000 | 54,449 | 54.4 |
| 42 | Michigan | 150,482 | 169,600 | 59,584 | 59.3 |
| 41 | Missouri | 155,203 | 168,000 | 57,409 | 60.2 |
| 40 | Kansas | 155,277 | 163,200 | 62,087 | 57.9 |
| 39 | Nebraska | 156,568 | 172,700 | 63,229 | 59.5 |
| 38 | Wisconsin | 160,116 | 197,200 | 64,168 | 62.7 |
| 37 | Alabama | 160,341 | 154,000 | 51,734 | 55.3 |
| 36 | Louisiana | 165,572 | 172,100 | 51,073 | 51.7 |
| 35 | Maine | 167,615 | 200,500 | 58,924 | 60.5 |
| 34 | Vermont | 172,919 | 233,200 | 63,001 | 61.7 |
| 33 | South Dakota | 173,005 | 185,000 | 59,533 | 55.6 |
| 32 | New Mexico | 174,292 | 180,900 | 51,945 | 52.9 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | 175,648 | 192,600 | 63,463 | 59.1 |
| 30 | North Dakota | 181,930 | 205,400 | 64,577 | 52.1 |
| 29 | South Carolina | 183,603 | 179,800 | 56,227 | 58.0 |
| 28 | Tennessee | 184,360 | 191,900 | 56,071 | 58.2 |
| 27 | North Carolina | 188,520 | 193,200 | 57,341 | 63.2 |
| 26 | Illinois | 189,808 | 209,100 | 69,187 | 62.4 |
| 25 | Georgia | 196,030 | 202,500 | 61,980 | 64.2 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 198,039 | 246,700 | 74,593 | 65.1 |
| 23 | Texas | 201,084 | 200,400 | 64,034 | 56.1 |
| 22 | Montana | 206,561 | 253,600 | 57,153 | 55.4 |
| 21 | New Hampshire | 208,570 | 281,400 | 77,933 | 64.9 |
| 20 | Idaho | 208,645 | 255,200 | 60,999 | 64.3 |
| 19 | Wyoming | 208,716 | 235,200 | 65,003 | 59.2 |
| 18 | Delaware | 210,933 | 261,700 | 70,176 | 65.5 |
| 17 | Florida | 214,203 | 245,100 | 59,227 | 56.3 |
| 16 | Rhode Island | 217,019 | 283,000 | 71,169 | 66.3 |
| 15 | Arizona | 229,332 | 255,900 | 62,055 | 62.4 |
| 14 | Alaska | 244,840 | 281,200 | 75,463 | 60.8 |
| 13 | Connecticut | 247,241 | 280,700 | 78,833 | 66.2 |
| 12 | Nevada | 253,602 | 317,800 | 63,276 | 67.4 |
| 11 | Utah | 258,635 | 330,300 | 75,780 | 70.1 |
| 10 | Oregon | 261,147 | 354,600 | 67,058 | 66.1 |
| 9 | Virginia | 269,570 | 288,800 | 76,456 | 67.7 |
| 8 | New Jersey | 270,329 | 348,800 | 85,751 | 65.6 |
| 7 | Maryland | 274,311 | 332,500 | 86,738 | 71.9 |
| 6 | New York | 274,349 | 338,700 | 72,108 | 59.6 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 292,513 | 418,600 | 85,843 | 68.3 |
| 4 | Colorado | 297,813 | 394,600 | 77,127 | 70.8 |
| 3 | Washington | 307,407 | 387,600 | 78,687 | 67.7 |
| 2 | Hawaii | 387,977 | 669,200 | 83,102 | 64.4 |
| 1 | California | 396,229 | 568,500 | 80,440 | 69.0 |