States Where Auto Loan Delinquency Is Increasing the Most

Falling behind on debt payments can cause long-term credit score damage and cost you a lot of money. You’ll rack up costly late fees even as your interest continues to build up. When it comes to auto loan debt, delinquency also has another dire consequence – after a long enough period of time, your car may even be repossessed.

In order to identify the states where auto loan delinquency is increasing the most, and thus where people’s vehicles are most in danger, WalletHub compared the 50 states using its proprietary user data on consumer delinquency rates between Q3 2023 and Q4 2023.

john-kiernan
“When you are delinquent on auto loan debt, try to get your account current as soon as possible to minimize the consequences. If you pay fewer than 30 days late, your delinquency won’t be reported to the credit bureaus, though you’ll still likely owe a late fee. If you’re more than 30 days late, talk with your lender so they don’t start the process of repossessing your car while you figure out how to pay. Ask if your lender has a hardship plan, or try strategies like cutting other expenses or consolidating debt.”
JOHN KIERNAN, WALLETHUB EDITOR

Table of Contents
Main Findings
In-Depth Look at the Top States
Methodology
Main Findings
1
1
50
50
State Rank
Washington 1
Alaska 2
Oregon 3
Georgia 4
Rhode Island 5
Oklahoma 6
Delaware 7
Utah 8
West Virginia 9
North Carolina 10
Hawaii 11
New Mexico 12
Colorado 13
New Jersey 14
California 15
South Carolina 16
Tennessee 17
Ohio 18
Nevada 19
Kansas 20
Vermont 21
Maryland 22
Arkansas 23
Mississippi 24
Pennsylvania 25
Arizona 26
Nebraska 27
Louisiana 28
Wisconsin 29
Michigan 30
Florida 31
Texas 32
Indiana 33
South Dakota 34
Illinois 35
Kentucky 36
Virginia 37
Connecticut 38
New York 39
Idaho 40
Missouri 41
Alabama 42
Massachusetts 43
North Dakota 44
New Hampshire 45
Iowa 46
Montana 47
Minnesota 48
Maine 49
Wyoming 50
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States Where Auto Loan Delinquency Is Increasing the Most
Overall Rank* State Share of Average Number of Auto Loan Tradelines Delinquent in Q4 2023 Change in Average Number of Auto Loan Tradelines Delinquent (Q4 2023 vs. Q3 2023)
1 Washington 10.67% 12.89%
2 Alaska 12.62% 12.50%
3 Oregon 10.27% 11.70%
4 Georgia 17.35% 11.62%
5 Rhode Island 11.38% 11.41%
6 Oklahoma 12.80% 11.21%
7 Delaware 18.09% 11.21%
8 Utah 9.01% 11.16%
9 West Virginia 17.11% 10.75%
10 North Carolina 17.93% 10.29%
11 Hawaii 13.79% 10.24%
12 New Mexico 15.05% 9.78%
13 Colorado 11.38% 9.57%
14 New Jersey 15.19% 9.39%
15 California 11.61% 9.34%
16 South Carolina 17.31% 9.34%
17 Tennessee 15.19% 9.19%
18 Ohio 12.70% 9.06%
19 Nevada 15.04% 9.02%
20 Kansas 11.92% 8.96%
21 Vermont 12.39% 8.89%
22 Maryland 16.29% 8.84%
23 Arkansas 16.49% 8.63%
24 Mississippi 23.49% 8.55%
25 Pennsylvania 15.17% 8.38%
26 Arizona 13.65% 8.15%
27 Nebraska 12.23% 7.96%
28 Louisiana 21.08% 7.96%
29 Wisconsin 12.14% 7.93%
30 Michigan 17.44% 7.93%
31 Florida 12.36% 7.88%
32 Texas 15.30% 7.85%
33 Indiana 14.94% 7.63%
34 South Dakota 11.61% 7.51%
35 Illinois 12.88% 7.25%
36 Kentucky 15.05% 7.19%
37 Virginia 14.50% 7.15%
38 Connecticut 14.56% 6.78%
39 New York 13.09% 6.78%
40 Idaho 9.04% 6.77%
41 Missouri 13.76% 6.72%
42 Alabama 17.61% 6.71%
43 Massachusetts 11.25% 6.55%
44 North Dakota 11.57% 6.45%
45 New Hampshire 11.32% 6.25%
46 Iowa 8.77% 5.97%
47 Montana 11.16% 5.60%
48 Minnesota 13.34% 3.04%
49 Maine 12.09% 2.30%
50 Wyoming 11.59% 1.48%
Note: *No. 1 = Largest Increase

In-Depth Look at the Top States Where Auto Loan Delinquency Is Increasing the Most
Washington
Auto loan delinquency is increasing the most in Washington, as the state’s residents were delinquent on 12.9% more auto loans in Q4 2023 than they were during Q3 2023.

The good news is that despite this big increase, Washington still has one of the lowest auto loan delinquency rates overall, with around 10.7% of borrowers behind on their payments.

People in Washington are also adding to their auto loan debt at a much slower rate than people in most other states, so that should hopefully minimize future increases in delinquency.

Alaska
Alaska had the second-highest increase in auto loan delinquency from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023. Residents were behind on payments for 12.5% more auto loans in the fourth quarter.

In addition, Alaskans have the highest average auto loan debt in the country, which means that interest can easily spiral out of control while people are not making payments, especially when late fees are also applied.

Things haven’t gotten out of hand yet, however. Alaska ranks toward the middle of the country when it comes to auto loan delinquency rates overall, with around 12.6% of borrowers delinquent.

Oregon
Auto loan delinquency in Oregon increased by 11.7% between Q3 2023 and Q4 2023, which ranks third nationally. However, Oregon still has a low auto loan delinquency rate overall. Around 10.3% of borrowers are behind on their payments, which beats all but three other states despite the recent increase.

People in Oregon should be cautious given the recent trend, but they probably aren’t in too much danger considering their total auto loan debt.

Methodology
To determine the states most delinquent on auto loans, we analyzed WalletHub’s proprietary user data on consumer delinquency rates between Q3 2023 and Q4 2023.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of March 27, 2024 from WalletHub database.

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