MIAMI—Mississippi had the highest rate of debt delinquencies in the nation during the first quarter of 2026, according to a new analysis from WalletHub that found Southern states dominate the rankings for borrowers falling behind on payments.
The personal finance company said 13.8% of individual loans and lines of credit in Mississippi were delinquent during the quarter, the highest rate among all 50 states. Mississippi residents were also delinquent on 13.6% of their total outstanding debt balances, giving the state the highest overall delinquency rate in the country.
Louisiana ranked second, with residents delinquent on 12.2% of individual tradelines and 12.9% of total debt balances. Arkansas placed third, with 11.2% of loans and credit lines delinquent and 10.5% of overall debt balances past due.
Rounding out the top 10 most delinquent states were West Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Delaware, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Iowa had the lowest delinquency rate, followed by Vermont, Utah, Montana and Wisconsin.
WalletHub said the rankings were based on proprietary user data from the first quarter of 2026 and measured both the percentage of delinquent tradelines and the percentage of total loan balances that were delinquent. The findings come as U.S. household debt stands at approximately $18.79 trillion, underscoring the continuing financial pressures facing many consumers across parts of the country.