In recent years, Americans have faced significant financial challenges, from periods of high unemployment to high inflation. In fact, inflation—most famously the price of eggs—was one of the deciding factors in the recent presidential election (no comment on how egg prices have fared since).
To determine the cities where people are in the most financial distress, WalletHub recently compared the 100 largest cities without data limitations across nine key metrics in six overall categories: 1) Credit Score, 2) People with Accounts in Distress, 3) Average Number of Accounts in Distress, 4) Change in Number of Bankruptcy Filings – December 2024 vs. December 2023, 5) “Debt” Search Interest Index and 6) “Loans” Search Interest Index. The study defines an account in distress as one that either is in forbearance or has its payments deferred.
Houston claimed the top (or bottom, as the case may be) spot. WalletHub’s study found it has a high share of the population with accounts in distress compared to most other cities, at over 9%, and it also has a high number of accounts in distress per person. In addition, people in Houston also show some of the highest Google search interest for terms like “debt” and “loans,” indicating a strong need for borrowing.
Space City leads an entire Texas contingent in this ignominious top 10, with Dallas, San Antonio and (somewhat surprisingly) Austin all claiming spaces.
Florida also has a heavy presence, similarly placing 4 cities in the top 10 — Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Orlando.
Atlanta and Charlotte were the only two cities in the top 10 not located in Florida or Texas.
Here’s a look at the 10 cities with the most people in financial distress.
