As car prices — both new and used — have risen,. While payments are up nationally, there are significant differences when you get down to state levels. And as pointed out, two states in the union had the highest and lowest payments in the whole country: Texas and Vermont, respectively.

As 2022 closed out, data from Experian showed that Texas had the highest average auto monthly payment in the whole country at $787 per month. That number is $80 more than the national payment, according to Experian. To back that up, data shows the average national payment sitting at $777 per month.

Vermont had the lowest car payment in the whole country. Yes, that’s a good thing — but the number is still pretty high, at an average of $625 per month.

Looking at the numbers, some may conclude that all those big trucks down in Texas are the reason for the high auto payments. Weirdly, that’s not true. The data shows Vermont buyers scoop up a greater average percentage of trucks than Texans, with pickups making 26 percent of all new Vermont auto loans in Q4 2022. Trucks made up 24 percent of Texas’ auto loans in the same period. Buyers in Vermont also buy more SUVs and crossovers than Texans, making up 62 percent of new loans in Vermont compared to 54 percent in Texas.

So how come Texans pay so much a month for their cars? It looks like the reason is credit. Texans have worse credit than Vermonters. Experian data shows that in Q4 2022 the average Texan had a 707 credit score, enough to get them an average of 6.3 percent APR (annual percentage rate); compare that to Vermonters who averaged a credit score of 741 and a 5.48 APR. That worse credit also meant longer loan terms, with Texans willing to take on an average of 70-month terms compared to Vermont’s 67.4 months; the national average is 69.5 months.