 TITLE: High Debt and Cost of Living Haven’t Hurt Hawaii’s Credit Scores CONTENT: Consumers Manage High Debt Better in Hawaii Than in Any Other State\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\nThe largest contributing factor to a person's credit score is how good they are at paying all their bills on time. Hawaii—the state with the second-highest average debt balance in the nation—outperforms nearly every other state, especially those with high debt balances, when it comes to making on-time payments.\nHawaii had an average delinquency ratio of 11.9% in Q2 2019, according to Experian data; only three other states' ratios were lower. Delinquency ratios are calculated by comparing how many accounts have ever been delinquent (30 days or more past due) with how many total accounts a consumer has. Minnesota consumers had the lowest delinquency ratio, at 10.4%, followed by South Dakota (11.3%) and Vermont (11.8%).\nWhen compared with the top five states with the highest total debt amounts—among which Hawaii ranks second—the state's delinquency ratio is even more of a standout statistic. Washington, D.C., which had the highest total average debt of any state in Q2 2019, had a delinquency ratio that was nearly double that of Hawaii's.\nIn fact, all the other states in the top five had a delinquency ratio that was significantly higher than Hawaii's in Q2 2019. This trend illustrates that even in the face of high debt, consumers in Hawaii have not been deterred from achieving top scores, even though managing large debt balances has proven difficult for others.\nSource: Experian data from Q2 2019 END