Shoppers in This North Carolina City Spend Over $2,500 This Holiday

In addition to bringing good cheer, the holidays can also invite seasonal stress, one of the primary sources of which is our addiction to consumerism. The COVID-19 pandemic has left a lasting impact on many people's finances this year, so holiday shopping may be more stressful than usual this year. The holiday season grew 8.3% last year despite the pandemic, so it's likely that we'll see even better growth this year now that conditions have improved.

Holiday shoppers are also struggling with credit card debt in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to WalletHub's data, the average household credit card debt in 2021 will be $7,854. Credit card debt stood at more than $900 billion at the beginning of 2021, and WalletHub projects a net increase of around $100 billion this year.

WalletHub calculated the maximum holiday budget for each of 570 U.S. cities based on five key demographic factors, such as income, age, and savings-to-monthly expenses ratio. So which North Carolina city is it? The award goes to Cary, North Carolina! Shoppers in this North Carolina city plan on spending an average of $2,541 this holiday season.