Key takeaway
Paying only minimums on the average $6,600 balance at 22% APR takes 94.6 years and costs $61,019 in interest — nearly ten times the original debt. The payoff timeline is identical in every state; what varies is the human burden. In the 20 states at the $7.25 federal minimum-wage floor, that $132 minimum payment consumes 10.5 cents of every dollar of full-time minimum-wage gross pay — 2.5× the burden in the lightest-burden states. This is an illustrative model with stated assumptions, not a survey of actual borrowers.
What this study is (and isn't)
This is a modeled simulation: one standardized debt ($6,600 at 22% APR, minimum = max(2% of balance, $25)) run through an amortization model, then compared against each state's 2026 minimum wage. It is not a survey of real borrowers, and it does not claim minimum-wage workers are the typical revolvers. The debt math — 1,135 months, $61,019.47 in interest — is identical in all 50 states; only the burden varies. Every assumption, formula, and data source is published in the full methodology, and the raw dataset is available as a CSV so anyone can check the work.
The 20 states where the trap is deepest
Twenty states share the federal $7.25 minimum wage floor — thirteen that match it by law, seven with no state minimum at all. In every one of them, the $132 minimum payment on the average balance consumes 10.5 cents of every dollar of full-time minimum-wage gross pay:
Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
A full-time minimum-wage worker in these states grosses $1,256.67 a month. The minimum payment alone takes $132 of it — before rent, before groceries, before everything else. There is essentially no room to pay more than the minimum, which is exactly how the trap holds.
The 5 states where the burden is lightest
At the other end, higher state minimum wages shrink the same payment down to a far smaller share of the paycheck:
- Washington ($17.13/hr) — 4.45%
- Connecticut ($16.94/hr) — 4.50%
- California ($16.90/hr) — 4.51%
- Hawaii ($16.00/hr) — 4.76%
- New York ($16.00/hr) — 4.76% (tied with Rhode Island)
The District of Columbia ($18.40/hr, 4.14%) would top this list, but it's shown as an unranked reference — it's not a state.
Even in Washington, the lightest-burden state, minimums-only still means 94.6 years and $61,019 in interest. A lighter burden doesn't make the trap safe. It just makes it survivable enough to escape — if you pay more than the minimum.
The honest math: the timeline is identical everywhere
To be completely clear about what this ranking does and doesn't say: the payoff timeline, total interest, and total paid are exactly the same in all 50 states. Debt math doesn't care about geography. What varies is the human cost — how much of a minimum-wage paycheck the minimum payment devours. We rank burden, not duration, because duration doesn't differ.
Why minimum payments are built this way
A typical minimum-payment formula — 2% of the balance, or $25, whichever is more — sets the payment just above the monthly interest charge. In month one on $6,600 at 22% APR, $121 of your $132 payment is interest. Only $11 touches the principal. The balance barely moves, so next month's 2% is nearly as large, and the cycle repeats for decades. The result is a debt-servicing plan, not a debt-payoff plan — the numbers below are what the formula produces, not anyone's opinion of it.
What to do instead
Anything above the minimum collapses the timeline. Paying a fixed $200 a month instead of the declining minimum on that same $6,600 balance cuts payoff from 94.6 years to about 4.3 years and interest from $61,019 to roughly $3,600. Run your own numbers:
- Avalanche vs. Snowball payoff calculator — compare payoff strategies on your actual balances
- Balance transfer analyzer — see what a 0% promo saves versus minimums
- The minimum-payment trap, explained — the mechanics behind these numbers
Related research
Debt is only one lens. See where your income, net worth, and retirement savings stand against official national and state benchmarks — then explore the Figmetric tools that match your situation:
- Where You Stand: See your numbers in context — Figmetric's interactive benchmark experience. Private by design: your numbers never leave your device.
Cite this study
Journalists and researchers: you're welcome to cite these figures. Please credit Figmetric and link to this page.
"Figmetric, 'The Minimum-Payment Trap in All 50 States' (September 2026). Modeled simulation: $6,600 balance, 22% APR, minimum payment = max(2% of balance, $25); burden ranked against 2026 state minimum wages. https://figmetric.com/guides/minimum-payment-trap-50-states/"
All 50 states, ranked by burden
Click any column header to sort. "Burden" is the first month's minimum payment as a share of full-time monthly minimum-wage gross pay.
| Rank | State | Min. wage 2026 | Monthly full-time pay | Burden | Months to payoff | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 2 | Georgia | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 3 | Idaho | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 4 | Indiana | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 5 | Iowa | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 6 | Kansas | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 7 | Kentucky | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 8 | Louisiana | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 9 | Mississippi | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 11 | North Carolina | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 12 | North Dakota | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 15 | South Carolina | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 16 | Tennessee | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 17 | Texas | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 18 | Utah | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 20 | Wyoming | $7.25 | $1,256.67 | 10.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $8.75 | $1,516.67 | 8.70% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 22 | Montana | $10.85 | $1,881.19 | 7.02% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 23 | Arkansas | $11.00 | $1,906.67 | 6.92% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 24 | Ohio | $11.00 | $1,906.67 | 6.92% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $11.41 | $1,977.73 | 6.67% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 26 | South Dakota | $11.85 | $2,054.00 | 6.43% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 27 | Nevada | $12.00 | $2,080.00 | 6.35% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 28 | New Mexico | $12.00 | $2,080.00 | 6.35% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 29 | Virginia | $12.77 | $2,213.47 | 5.96% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 30 | Michigan | $13.73 | $2,379.87 | 5.55% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 31 | Alaska | $14.00 | $2,426.67 | 5.44% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 32 | Florida | $14.00 | $2,426.67 | 5.44% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 33 | Vermont | $14.42 | $2,499.47 | 5.28% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 34 | Delaware | $15.00 | $2,600.00 | 5.08% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 35 | Illinois | $15.00 | $2,600.00 | 5.08% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 36 | Maryland | $15.00 | $2,600.00 | 5.08% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 37 | Massachusetts | $15.00 | $2,600.00 | 5.08% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 38 | Missouri | $15.00 | $2,600.00 | 5.08% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 39 | Nebraska | $15.00 | $2,600.00 | 5.08% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 40 | Maine | $15.10 | $2,617.33 | 5.04% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 41 | Arizona | $15.15 | $2,626.00 | 5.03% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 42 | Colorado | $15.16 | $2,627.73 | 5.02% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 43 | Oregon | $15.55 | $2,695.33 | 4.90% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 44 | New Jersey | $15.92 | $2,759.47 | 4.78% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $16.00 | $2,773.33 | 4.76% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 46 | New York | $16.00 | $2,773.33 | 4.76% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | $16.00 | $2,773.33 | 4.76% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 48 | California | $16.90 | $2,929.33 | 4.51% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 49 | Connecticut | $16.94 | $2,936.27 | 4.50% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| 50 | Washington | $17.13 | $2,969.20 | 4.45% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
| — | District of Columbia † | $18.40 | $3,189.33 | 4.14% | 1,135 | $61,019.47 |
† District of Columbia shown as an unranked reference row; it is not a state. Payoff timeline and total interest are identical in every state — only the burden varies. See the full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to pay off $6,600 making only minimum payments?
About 94.6 years at 22% APR with a standard 2%-of-balance ($25 floor) minimum — paying $61,019 in interest on top of the original $6,600. This is a modeled simulation, not a survey of real borrowers.
Why do minimum payments barely reduce the balance?
Because the minimum is calibrated just above the monthly interest charge. In month one, $121 of a $132 payment is interest; only $11 retires principal.
Does the minimum-payment trap differ by state?
The payoff math is identical everywhere. What differs is the burden: the same $132 minimum is 10.5% of a full-time minimum-wage paycheck in the 20 states at the $7.25 federal floor, versus 4.5% in Washington.
What's the fastest way out of credit-card debt?
Pay a fixed amount well above the minimum every month — the avalanche method (highest APR first) minimizes interest. A 0% balance-transfer promo can also pause interest while you pay down principal.
Published: September 28, 2026