When it comes to paying down debt, where you live can be just as important as how you live.
To find the best city to live in to pay down debt, LendingTree analyzed data in 50 of the biggest metro areas in the U.S. using a number of factors that can make it easier for locals to get out of the red.
Specifically, they looked at each city's average credit utilization rate (the share of their available credit that individuals use), which experts recommend should be less than 30 percent. They also took into account housing costs in relation to income, unemployment rates and cost of living generally.
The city that scored highest in LendingTree's analysis is Cincinnati, Ohio. It has a debt utilization rate that's a bit higher than ideal (32.2 percent), but the costs of goods and services are lowest here. And the average resident spends just 15.9 percent of his or her income on housing.
Compare that to the high housing costs of cities like Miami and Los Angeles, where the average resident pays 28.6 percent and 25.6 percent, respectively.