MIAMI--With U.S. household debt now standing at roughly $18.8 trillion, personal finance company WalletHub said a new analysis shows some of the nation’s largest cities are facing especially acute debt-payment stress, with delinquency levels that could heighten risks to consumers’ credit scores and broader financial stability.
In its updated report on the cities where consumers are the most delinquent on debt, WalletHub said it analyzed proprietary user data from the fourth quarter of 2025 across the 100 largest U.S. cities for which it had complete information. The ranking was based on two measures: the share of individual tradelines that were delinquent and the percentage of residents’ total loan balances that were delinquent.
Detroit ranked as the most delinquent city overall, according to WalletHub, with residents delinquent on 15.7% of all loans and lines of credit—the highest rate in the country by number of tradelines. Detroit also posted the highest delinquency rate by dollar volume, with 20.2% of total household debt delinquent.
Newark ranked second, with 15.5% of loans and lines of credit delinquent in the fourth quarter of 2025, the third-highest rate nationally. WalletHub said Newark residents were delinquent on 17.8% of their overall debt by dollar amount, also the third-highest rate in the country. Greensboro ranked third, with nearly 15.5% of loans and lines of credit delinquent, the second-highest rate nationally, while 13.7% of total debt balances were delinquent, ranking 13th on that measure.
WalletHub said the study underscores where consumers may be most vulnerable to credit-score damage and other financial consequences as borrowing burdens remain elevated. The company said it used Q4 2025 data, the latest quarter available, and compared cities using the two delinquency metrics to determine its rankings.