Separate studies recently released by WalletHub and The Stock Dork compiled lists of cities where auto finance delinquencies are increasing and decreasing the most, as well as states where consumers struggle with personal finances the most.

To assemble its analysis of delinquency rates, WalletHub compared 100 of the largest cities based on its proprietary data from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year.

According to WalletHub, the cities where consumers face the highest risk of losing their vehicles or suffering significant credit score damage include:

—Chesapeake, Va.
—Anchorage, Alaska
—Des Moines, Iowa
—Spokane, Wash.
—Lincoln, Neb.
—Sacramento, Calif.
—Irvine, Calif.
—Garland, Texas
—Boston
—Winston-Salem, N.C.

Conversely, WalletHub reported the cities where auto delinquencies are improving the most are:

—San Francisco
—Norfolk, Va.
—Portland, Ore.
—Jersey City, N.J.
—Glendale, Ariz.
—Madison, Wisc.
—Laredo, Texas
—Fremont, Calif.
—Oklahoma City
—Omaha, Neb.

“It’s encouraging to see that many cities had significant decreases in the auto loan delinquency rate between Q1 and Q2 2024,” WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said in a news release that highlighted the study.

“This demonstrates either that economic conditions are improving or that people are prioritizing getting current with payments on secured debt like auto loans so they don’t get their property repossessed. Whatever the root cause of reduced delinquency rates, it’s good news for consumers and the economy overall,” Happe continued.

Well, perhaps the economy isn’t doing so well, at least in 10 locations highlighted in a recent study by The Stock Dork, which analyzed all U.S. states and the District of Columbia to identify the states that struggle with personal finances the most.

Analysts explained information about average card debt and its growth over the last three years was collected and compared with average salary, cost of living and disposable income. The data was collected from Forbes, the U.S. Census and Experian. The debt to salary and debt to disposable income rates were calculated and used for the final score.

The Stock Dork determined the state that struggles with personal finances the most is Massachusetts, getting a composite score of 69.34 which reflects high average debt and its role in personal finances.

Analysts found the average credit card debt increased by $2,999, the biggest growth in the ranking. Massachusetts offers one of the highest salaries but cost of living cancels this advantage, leaving $22,740 of disposable income.

The Stock Dork found that New York came in second place in the ranking of states that struggle with personal finances the most, scoring 69.09. The average card debt in the Empire State is only $119 higher than in Massachusetts and the debt growth is similar.

While New York offers a smaller average salary of $74,870, the disposable income is bigger than in Massachusetts, summing up to $25,247, according to study.

Analysts indicated New Jersey ranked third with a score of 65.02. The Stock Dork found the Garden State has the highest average card debt, coming in at $8,909.

The Stock Dork said a lot of income in New Jersey is spent on the cost of living, making the debt 41.67% of the disposable income, third-highest debt to disposable income ratio in the ranking.

Analysts noticed California follows closely in fourth place and a score of 64.28.

The Stock Dork said the card debt increased in the Golden State during the last three years, climbing to $2,799. Analysts added the cost of living in California is similar to Massachusetts and it leaves people with a little over $20,000 in disposable income. The rate of credit card debt to disposable income in California ends up at 41.73%, the second highest in the list.

Rounding out the top five in the study is the District of Columbia.

While the average card debt had the smallest growth over the last few years, analysts pointed out the District of Columbia offers the highest salaries in the top 10 but the cost of living is only $1,089 less than the average salary which leaves people with almost no disposable income.

In that situation the credit card debt becomes 692% of the disposable income while debt to overall salary ratio is the lowest in the list, according to The Stock Dork.