Access to credit is an important resource for managing personal finances, whether to pay for major purchases, serve as a bridge to cover regular expenses, or smooth out spending when something unexpected happens. But reliance on debt like credit cards can also mean racking up large balances that are hard to pay off.
In this tumultuous economy, rising financial pressures have caused more individuals to struggle with credit card payments, leading to higher delinquency rates and worsening financial strain. This analysis examines how credit card delinquency rates vary across the U.S., highlighting the regions and demographics most affected by financial instability.
Household Credit Card Debt and Severe Delinquency Over Time
Following a sharp decline during COVID, household credit card debt and severe delinquency have risen dramatically. Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Household credit card debt in Q4 of 2023 reached $1.13 trillion, surpassing the prepandemic peak of $927 billion in Q4 2019. Debt has surged significantly in recent years, growing 15.2% year-over-year in Q4 2022 and 14.5% in Q4 2023. This recent double-digit growth represents the fastest credit card debt accumulation in nearly 20 years.
With rising credit card debt, cardholders are increasingly at risk of falling behind on payments. While the share of credit card borrowers with severely delinquent credit card debt — 90 days or more overdue — declined during the pandemic, the rate has climbed steadily since then. After bottoming out in Q3 2021 at 9.4%, the delinquency rate rose to 12.2% by Q4 2023.
Credit Card Delinquency Rates by Location
Areas in the South and Nevada have the highest share of credit cardholders with severely delinquent debt. Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Credit card reliance and behavior vary across the country, meaning that rates of usage and delinquency can look different by geography. Many of the states with the highest credit card delinquency rates are found in the South, which has relatively low incomes compared to the rest of the U.S. While credit cardholders in the South tend to have less credit card debt than the national average, they are more likely to have high credit utilization.
Notably, 7 states in the South have more than 15% of cardholders with severely delinquent credit card debt, led by Mississippi at 17.9%. The only non-Southern state ranked in the top 10 is Nevada, with 15.6% of its cardholders seriously delinquent. In contrast, areas of the Upper Midwest, Mountain West, and Pacific Northwest tend to have the lowest rates of severely delinquent cardholders, highlighted by Wisconsin (6.8%), Utah (7.1%), and Minnesota (7.4%).
Similar trends hold at the metropolitan level, with large southern metros like Memphis (19.6%), Atlanta (16.2%), New Orleans (16.2%), and Houston (15.8%) all ranking in the top 5. Conversely, affluent metropolitan areas in California — such as San Jose (6.3%) and San Francisco (7.5%) — have the lowest share of credit cardholders with severely delinquent credit card debt.
Below is a complete breakdown of credit card delinquency rates for 384 metropolitan areas and all 50 states. Upgraded Points conducted the analysis using the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. For more information, see the methodology section below.
Cities and States With the Highest (And Lowest) Credit Card Delinquency Rates
Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax Data and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Census Flat File, accessed via the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Consumer Credit Explorer — a dataset that is updated annually.
Researchers ranked locations by the share of cardholders with severely delinquent debt as of Q4 2023, the latest data available. Cardholders are defined as those who use at least 1 credit card (not necessarily carrying a balance and paying interest), and they were considered to have severely delinquent debt if they had at least 1 credit card account 90 days or more past due. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater change in the share of cardholders with severely delinquent debt since prepandemic (Q4 2019 to Q4 2023) was ranked higher.
Final Thoughts
Access to credit is a crucial tool for managing personal finances, helping individuals cover large purchases, bridge expenses, or handle unexpected costs. However, reliance on credit cards can lead to accumulating high balances that become difficult to pay off. In recent years, household credit card debt has surged, with debt in Q4 2023 reaching $1.13 trillion, surpassing prepandemic levels. This growth marks the fastest accumulation of credit card debt in nearly 2 decades, with year-over-year increases of over 14% in both 2022 and 2023.
As credit card debt rises, so does the risk of delinquency. The percentage of borrowers with severely delinquent credit card debt, defined as being 90 days or more overdue, has steadily increased since hitting a low in Q3 2021. By Q4 2023, the delinquency rate rose to 12.2%. Geographically, the highest rates of severely delinquent cardholders are concentrated in the South, where lower incomes and higher credit utilization are common. States like Mississippi (17.9%) and Nevada (15.6%) lead in delinquency rates, while regions in the Upper Midwest and West, such as Wisconsin (6.8%) and Utah (7.1%), report the lowest rates. A similar pattern is observed in metropolitan areas, with major southern cities experiencing the highest rates of delinquency.
