Midwest states dominate personal loan affordability, according to a new study released Monday by lender Achieve.
Personal loans go further in North Dakota than any other state, the study found. Personal loans are cash advances that can come from a variety of sources.
“More Americans are turning to personal loans these days, and for good reason,” an Achieve spokesperson said. “They often come with lower rates than credit cards, fixed monthly payments, and a clear payoff date, which makes budgeting easier.”
North Dakota ranked well across the four data points Achieve used to determine its top states - regional cost of living, average personal loan annual percentage rate, median household income and the purchasing power of $100.
South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas and Kansas, ranked No. 2 to No.5, respectively, the study revealed.
The top five states ranked highly in several categories, including interest rate, local cost of living and income compared to the purchasing power of the national average loan amount of $11,699.
While four of the top five states for personal loan affordability were in the Midwest, three of the five least affordable states for personal loans were located on the West Coast.
Personal loans are one of the fastest ways for consumers to get a loan, with many lenders offering same-day or one-day funding. Some 38 percent of consumers have personal loans, according to a February study from credit bureau Experian.
The share of those with personal loans has risen every year since 2017, and Experian does not expect that trend to slow.
“Consumers will continue using personal loans in 2026 to refinance and consolidate higher-interest debt,” the credit bureau wrote.
Higher-interest debt is of particular importance to the average American. Some 73 percent of consumers’ credit card debt is due to everyday expenses, according to a December 2025 white paper from Academy Bank.
The average credit card interest rate for all U.S. accounts is 21 percent, or nearly 50 percent higher than the average two-year personal loan rate of 11.4 percent, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve.
Consolidating credit card debt with a 21 percent average rate into a personal loan at 11.4 percent could save a consumer as much as $1,079 in interest payments based on a two-year payoff plan, according to calculators from Discover and Bankrate.
Use of lending products such as credit cards has risen year on year as consumers fight against rising inflation.
Some 57 percent of Americans say inflation has caused them to carry bigger credit card balances than they did a year ago, according to March 2026 survey from debt-focused consumer education site Debt.com.
In January, President Donald Trump proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent for one year to ease Americans’ debt burden.
The proposal was met with swift backlash and, in some cases, positive projections for certain consumers.
The American Bakers Association said in a January press release that the cap would “significantly reduce access to credit for millions of consumers,” while a September 2025 study from Vanderbilt University found that a cap has the potential to save consumers as much as $100 billion a year.
