NC ranked No. 5 in US for ‘car-poor’ drivers. How much are their car payments?
North Carolinians are among the most “car-poor” drivers in the country.
According to a new analysis from ConsumerAffairs, North Carolinians are spending $630 per month on car payments.
The state ranks No. 5 in the U.S. for “car-poor” drivers, which means drivers here can afford their car payments, but compared to drivers in other states, their car payments more highly limit their ability to save and be financially resilient.
The ConsumerAffairs analysis used data from more than 38,000 drivers across the country, including 994 in North Carolina, who submitted their income and auto loan payments through auto loan refinancing company Auto Approve’s website between November 2024 and May 2026.
The analysis calculated median monthly income and car payments based on information from people applying to refinance their car loans. Out of a $4,000 monthly income, North Carolina drivers are spending $630 on car payments. That’s about 15.8% of their monthly income, the tenth-highest rate in the U.S.
North Carolina drivers had a median loan term of 75 months, the fifth longest in the U.S., and a median APR of 15.12%, the fifth highest.
This ranking comes as auto loan debt continues to climb across the country. Auto debt in the U.S., including traditional loans and leases, reached $1.68 trillion last year, according to a new analysis from progressive think tank The Century Foundation and consumer advocacy group Protect Borrowers. That’s about $450 million more than in 2018.
The analysis also found that more than 2.8 million people in North Carolina had auto loan debt at the end of 2025. Their average loan balance was $25,303, up more than 25% since 2018.
Full story: Americans have $1.68 trillion in auto debt. How much do North Carolinians owe?
Here’s what to know about auto loan debt in North Carolina:
- About one in every four North Carolinians had auto loan debt at the end of 2025, according to the analysis from The Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers.
- Almost 86 million Americans carried outstanding auto loan or lease debt last year.
- North Carolina’s auto debt balance per capita was $5,980 at the end of 2025, higher than credit card debt balance per capita ($4,160) and student loan debt balance per capita ($5,630), per Federal Reserve Bank of New York data.
- In comparison, Texas had the highest auto debt balance per capita — $8,000 — while Washington, D.C. had the lowest at $3,350.
- Cars are getting more expensive due to several factors, said Lucia Constantine, a senior researcher at the Durham-based Center for Responsible Lending. Those include supply chain issues, tariffs and the incorporation of more technology into cars.
- “We also know that the relationship between dealers and lenders really increases the cost of the transaction for consumers who come into the purchase not knowing a lot about the condition of the vehicle or the terms of the financing they will receive,” Constantine told The News & Observer.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by Renee Umsted and Dave Hendrickson, who also reported, wrote and edited the full story in the link at top.
