The 5 states where Americans are financially struggling the most — and 5 where they're struggling the least

Americans around the country are struggling to make ends meet, but in some states, people are facing much higher levels of financial distress than others.

WalletHub set out to find the places where financial struggles are most prevalent. It looked at all fifty states across nine different metrics to create its ranking. It considered factors like average credit score by city, the number of people with accounts in distress, changes in bankruptcy filings, and search interest for “debt” and “loans.”

“Measuring the share of residents in financial distress is a good way to take the pulse of a state and see whether people are generally thriving or having trouble making ends meet," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state.”

Continue reading to see which state residents are in the most and least financial distress.

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South Carolinians are struggling, with high levels of accounts in distress. They also often find themselves searching for loans, landing the state in fifth.

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Nevadans are afflicted by low credit scores and a high percentage of residents with accounts in distress, placing it in fourth.

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Louisianans have the highest rate of average numbers of accounts in distress and are often searching to secure loans, landing the state in third.

"Around 11.8% of Louisianans also have a credit account in forbearance or with deferred payments, the highest share in the country," WalletHub said.

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The Sunshine State is suffering all around, with the largest share of people who have accounts in distress, low credit scores, and high rates of bankruptcy.

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Texans had low scores across the board, and the Lone Star State took the top spot for most financially distressed.

"Texans are having a number of economic struggles, which are demonstrated by the fact that residents had the ninth-lowest average credit score in the country in Q1 2025," WalletHub said. "Texas also had the third-highest number of accounts in forbearance or with deferred payments per person, and the seventh-highest share of people with these distressed accounts, at 7.1%. "

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New Mexico residents are in pretty good shape, with a low numbers of accounts in distress and little search interest in debt and loans. It was ranked 46th, or the 5th best.

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Oregonians have high credit scores or a low number of accounts in distress, landing it the 4th best spot.

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Alaskans have high credit scores, few accounts in distress, and hasn't seen a large change in bankruptcy filings. It came in 47th, or the third-least distressed.

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While Vermonters have worked to do on their credit scores, the state has the lowest amount of people with accounts in distress and the lowest average number of accounts in distress, securing it the second-to-last spot.

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Hawaiians also don't have the highest credit scores, but the state still ranked last thanks to low changes in bankruptcy filings and little search interest in loans and debt.