Are Your Customers Financially Distressed?

With 7 million Americans having at least one credit account where they are late on their payments or have been allowed to delay them, according to WalletHub, which recently released its 2024 rankings for the States with the Most People in Financial Distress. The report sheds light on the financial troubles experienced by people across the U.S. and shows where those difficulties are most pronounced.

"Measuring the share of residents in financial distress is a good way to take the pulse of a state and see whether people are generally thriving or having trouble making ends meet," said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst. "When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state."

People living in Michigan, Texas, and Nevada are showing the most distress, according to WalletHub's metrics. "In Q1 2024, Michigan had the most accounts per person in financial distress, meaning accounts where the account holder was temporarily allowed to not make payments due to financial difficulty," Happe said. "Michiganians also had the second-highest increase in the share of people with distressed accounts between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024 at over 70%."

Most distressed

1. Michigan

2. Texas

3. Nevada

4. Tennessee

5. Rhode Island

6. Georgia

7. Louisiana

8. North Carolina

9. Mississippi

10. New York

Least distressed

41. Wyoming

42. Oregon

43. Kansas

44. Maine

45. Nebraska

46. Wisconsin

47. Vermont

48. Connecticut

49. Iowa

50. New Hampshire

Click here to view the full report.