Here’s how Bellingham residents stack up on credit card debt. It’s about to get worse.

When it comes to credit card debt, the spending habits of Bellingham residents are about average compared to other cities. Given the latest national spending trends and rising interest rates, that’s still a lot of money to be paid back.

The financial website WalletHub recently released a report about the average credit card debt for selected U.S. cities during the first quarter. Bellingham ranked in the 46th percentile when it comes to high credit card debt, with a household average of $12,390.

Blaine and Ferndale residents were in better shape among the cities analyzed in the survey. Blaine households ranked in the 11th percentile with an average of $10,176 in credit card debt. Ferndale ranked 37th, at $11,937.

Across the U.S. the average credit card debt per household was $8,166 in early 2018, up from $7,792 in the same period the previous year according to WalletHub.

Cardholders will be paying more for that credit card debt. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rates twice this year, to 2 percent. It’s expected to raise that rate twice more in the coming months, hitting 2.5 percent at the end of the year. Credit card companies generally pass on those increases to consumers.

Across the U.S., Americans have been adding to credit card debt, owing more than $1 trillion in credit card debt for the first time ever.

“So it’s not a question of whether consumers are weakening financially. It’s a matter of how long this trend will last and just how bad it will get,” said Alina Comoreanu, a senior researcher who wrote the report. According to a recent article in MarketWatch, if the Federal Reserve does raise rates as expected, it will create a total of $110 billion to pay in credit card interest and fees.

A couple of factors may be at work when it comes to rising credit card debt, said Hart Hodges, director at the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University. Given the strong job market, a lot of people are feeling more confident and are willing to carry a larger balance.

There is also a group of people who are stuck carrying credit card debt because they have to in order to pay for the basics. With rising rents and inflation, those credit card balances are increasing.

Those living paycheck to paycheck “aren’t carrying more debt because they are more confident. Rather, they have no choice,” Hodges said.

James McCafferty agreed, adding that there is a growing divide Americans are experiencing between actual funds and the lifestyle they want. By lifestyle, that can include simply fulfilling basic needs like getting enough to eat, he said.

“The gap is filled by credit cards,” said McCafferty, who is also a director at Western’s economic and business research center.

The issue of rising credit card debt will become magnified once the economy slows down, Hodges said. People will have to work their way out from under that debt, something that is difficult to do during an economic downturn.

“Debt could be the topic of discussion in the next recession, whenever that happens,” Hodges said.