People living in rural areas are already struggling to pay back credit-card loans and purchase big-ticket items like automobiles, experts say.

The Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday in an effort to temper the rising costs of consumer goods and services. 

While economists say raising the interest rate will help cool consumer demand and hopefully ease record-high inflation, it will also raise the cost of borrowing for everything from houses to car loans. Lower-income households with credit card-debt — those with a median income of $16,290 per year and $35,630 per year — typically have a higher debt-to-income ratio than wealthier Americans, according to Federal Reserve data.