San Antonio has landed atop a dubious list. 

Alamo City residents carry the highest amount of credit card debt in the country, a study by credit-monitoring company Experian found. 

The average credit card balance for San Antonio residents was $5,177 in December, up 1.5 percent from December 2009. 

San Antonio ranked third in Experian’s last ranking in 2009. 

San Antonio’s average credit balance was almost 21 percent above the national average of $4,384 in December.  The national average dropped 4.1 percent from a year earlier. 

Dallas ranked fifth on the list, with an average balance of $4,936.  Austin was eighth, with an average balance of $4,791.  No other Texas cities made the top 25 list. 

San Antonio residents carry an average of 1.85 credit cards, down from 18 percent in 2007. 

Bankcard utilization — the amount of credit card balances divided by credit card limits — was 37.1 percent for San Antonio residents in December.  That’s up nearly 7 percent since 2007.  The national utilization rate was 30.7 percent. 

— Patrick Danner