These states have had highest mortgage delinquency growth?

The fastest-growing mortgage delinquency has been concentrated in a band of Southern and some Midwestern states, with recent data pointing especially to Mississippi, Louisiana, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and parts of Florida/Minnesota counties as seeing the sharpest recent increases (growth) rather than just high levels.

Clarifying “highest growth”

Most public sources distinguish between:

• States with the highest levels of delinquency (share of loans 30+ or 90+ DPD).

• States where delinquency is rising the fastest (basis-point increase over a recent quarter or year).

You asked about “highest mortgage delinquency growth,” which aligns with the second concept (states with the largest recent increases). Recent industry and policy analyses for 2024–2026 generally use quarterly or yearly basis‑point changes to identify those states.

States with the fastest recent increases

Recent mortgage industry data for 2025 show several states with the largest quarter‑over‑quarter jumps in overall delinquency rates, even if their absolute levels are not always the highest.

• Arizona: Among the states with the largest quarterly jumps in 2025 overall delinquency, with an increase in the roughly mid‑20s to high‑20s basis‑point range in a single quarter.

• Louisiana: Both high levels and large quarterly increases, with delinquency rates frequently in the 7–8 percent “non‑current” range and among the biggest quarterly risers in 2025.

• Indiana: Identified as one of the top states for quarter‑over‑quarter delinquency growth in 2025, with an increase on the order of a couple dozen basis points.

• Iowa: Similarly flagged for one of the largest quarterly increases in overall delinquency rates in 2025.

• Texas: Shows both elevated delinquency levels and is listed among the states with the largest quarterly jumps in 2025.

Separately, MBA data for Q4 2024 also highlight states with big jumps in overall delinquency rates over that quarter:

• Florida: Largest quarterly increase in overall delinquency rate in Q4 2024 (up 99 basis points).

• South Carolina: Second‑largest quarterly increase (up 59 basis points).

• North Carolina: Large quarterly increase (up 40 basis points).

• Georgia: Large quarterly increase (up 39 basis points).

• Louisiana: Again appears with a sizable quarterly increase (up 32 basis points).

These two snapshots (2024 MBA and 2025 industry data) together show repeated appearance of Louisiana, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia as states where delinquency rates are growing quickly, along with Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, and parts of the Carolinas.

States with highest delinquency levels (context)

For context, some analyses highlight where levels are currently worst, which often overlap with places experiencing fast growth.

• Mississippi: Very high average delinquent share, around or above 7–8 percent in some recent analyses, and the highest share of average delinquent mortgage loans as of Q1 2026 (around 15 percent in one report).

• Louisiana: Consistently near the top in both non‑current (7–8 percent) and serious delinquency rates (around 1.5–1.9 percent), well above U.S. averages.

• Alabama and Texas: Identified as having elevated delinquency rates relative to national levels.

• West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana: Earlier 2022 data show these as the three states with the highest average monthly delinquency rates, with West Virginia at roughly 3.2 percent, Mississippi at 2.8+ percent, and Louisiana at 2.7–2.8+ percent.

These southern and some Appalachian states (Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, Alabama, Texas) have both high delinquency levels and, in some cases, rising trends.

Localized hotspots and county‑level growth

Growth is also very uneven within states, with county‑ and metro‑level pockets showing particularly sharp increases.

• Counties with the steepest unemployment increases have seen mortgage delinquency rise by about 0.6 percentage points over the past year, with many of these counties concentrated in Florida and Minnesota.

• Several metros have extremely high delinquency levels: Laredo, Texas (around 24 percent delinquent), Detroit, Michigan (around 19 percent), and Newark, New Jersey (around 17 percent) in mid‑2025.

• Southern metros such as San Antonio, Memphis, Houston, and Birmingham show elevated delinquency rates compared to West Coast metros like those in California, Oregon, and Washington, which report delinquency rates below 2 percent in some analyses.

This reinforces the pattern that the fastest growth and highest stress are concentrated in parts of the Deep South, some Midwest/Southwest metros, and a subset of coastal markets affected by insurance and tax increases.

Key patterns driving growth

Several factors are repeatedly associated with the states/regions experiencing the strongest delinquency growth.

• Southern concentration: Many of the largest increases and highest levels are in Southern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.

• Labor‑market stress: Counties with rising unemployment have seen larger jumps in delinquency (about 0.6 percentage‑point worsening over a year in those counties).

• Escrow/insurance pressure: Coastal and hurricane‑exposed states (e.g., Florida, South Carolina, Georgia) show strong upticks in serious delinquencies linked to surging insurance premiums and property‑tax‑driven escrow payments.