Consumer debt up 11 percent in Tampa Bay area

By HELEN HUNTLEY
Published January 28, 2005

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If you've gotten yourself deeper in debt in the past year, you have plenty of ompany.

The average consumer debt in the Tampa Bay area is $11,325 (as of October), up 11 percent from a year earlier, according to the credit reporting company Experian. That number includes credit cards and car loans, but not mortgages or home equity loans.

Tampa Bay consumers are close to the national average in the amount of debt and in average credit score (674 in the Tampa Bay area versus 677 nationally).

The good news: Higher debts don't necessarily produce lower credit scores. The Experian study found those with higher-than-average debt also had higher-than-average credit scores. Experian's credit scores range from 330 to 830; anything above 720 is considered excellent and anything below 600 is poor.