Slightly more than half of Americans have more emergency savings than credit card debt, according to a new study by Bankrate.com.

Man Stressed Over Money
Cheryl Casey, ThinkStock
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Bankrate.com Chief Financial Officer Greg McBride said that number would be 100 percent in an ideal world.

"If you don't have emergency savings, you're just one unplanned expense away from high cost debt," McBride said.

The number of Americans with neither debt nor savings rose to 21 percent, a 13 percent increase from last year. Millennials are the most likely to have more emergency savings than credit card debt, compared to other age groups.

Meanwhile, 22 percent of Americans have more debt than savings - the lowest number in six years.

McBride said that the study's findings could have resulted from America's consumerist culture.

"Americans have a longstanding tradition of being good consumers," he said. "People like their stuff."

The state of the economy is a major player in how much people can save for emergencies. McBride said that people are having difficulty moving money into these accounts because of stagnant wages and the weakened stock market.

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