Florida drivers among the most common to have $1,000 car payments

A new study from Lending Tree found 11% of Florida drivers have at least one monthly car payment of $1,000 or more, placing the state fifth highest in the nation for expensive auto loans.

These four-digit payments are becoming increasingly common, with 40% of these high-dollar loans taken out just last year.

Lending Tree reviewed credit reports from about 180,000 Americans with active car loans for the study.

Texas leads the nation with the highest percentage of thousand-dollar car payments, with almost 13% of drivers paying these high costs.

These hefty payments are least common in northeastern states like Rhode Island, Maine and Pennsylvania.

Gen X drivers are most likely to take on these expensive loans. Nearly 11% of Gen Xers with car payments are members of the four-figure-a-month club.

So what's driving the huge increase? Experts say it's the cost of vehicles, which keeps rising. The average new car right now costs $50,000.

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