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Repairs cleared for Luzerne County prison elevator involved in July deaths

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Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George says last year’s deficit will affect ‘17 budget

<p>Area residents aren&#8217;t making very smart decisions when it comes to piling up debt for car purchases, according to a new study that calculates car debt-to-income ratios. People in Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton all have ratios above 60 percent.</p><p>WalletHub.com ranked 2,539 cities nationwide based on average car loan debt and income per resident. They used that data to calculate a car loan debt-to-income ratio, which in turn placed cities in different percentiles. The higher the percentile rank, the worse the debt in that city.</p><p>Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton fell overall near the middle, respectively landing in the 54th, 58th and 63rd percentiles.</p><p>The worst place for car loans nationwide was Ruston, La., where the loan to income ratio was a whopping 187 percent. By comparison, the ratio in Hazleton was 67 percent, with Wilkes-Barre at 64 percent and Scranton at 62 percent.</p><p>East Stroudsburg had the dubious distinction of having the highest ratio in Pennsylvania, 124 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, Newton &#8212; 10 miles from the northeast corner of Philadelphia &#8212; had the lowest ratio in Pennsylvania at 31 percent, putting it in the fifth percentile.</p><p>The best place in the nation for a car loan? According to the rankings, that would be Scarsdale, N.Y., a suburb about 20 miles from Central Park in Manhattan, with a debt-to income ratio of 16 percent.</p><p>The report, titled &#8220;<a href="https://wallethub.com/car-payment-calculator/" target="_blank">2017 cities that overspend on cars</a>,&#8221; notes that car sales have been booming, hitting a record in 2016 for the seventh consecutive year. But WalletHub found a dark cloud in the silver lining: &#8220;While car dealers are rejoicing, many drivers are on the road to financial ruin.&#8221;</p><p>Auto-loan balances have increased steadily to $1.135 trillion, with a &#8220;t&#8221;, in 2013, the report notes, adding that low interest rates and growing car sales have &#8220;encouraged more lending to subprime borrowers,&#8221; increasing odds that car buyers could be borrowing over their heads.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Report: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton car buyers may be in over their heads