Cities Where Auto Loan Delinquency Is Decreasing the Most

Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial WriterAug 21, 2025

Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial Writer
Aug 21, 2025

Falling behind on auto loan payments can lead to late fees in the short term, but the long-term consequences are even more serious. Delinquency can damage your credit score and result in vehicle repossession, which may then make it harder to commute to work or handle other essential responsibilities, deepening financial hardship.

The good news is that auto loan delinquency rates are actually declining in many cities. To find out where they're dropping the most and where people face the lowest risk of losing their vehicles or damaging their credit, WalletHub analyzed proprietary data from Q1 to Q2 2025 across 100 of the largest U.S. cities.

“It’s encouraging to see that many cities had significant decreases in the auto loan delinquency rate between Q1 and Q2 2025. 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.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Table of Contents

Main Findings

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Cities Least Delinquent on Auto Loans

Overall Rank*	City	Total Score	Share of Average Number of Auto Loan Tradelines Delinquent in Q2 2025	Change in Average Number of Auto Loan Tradelines Delinquent (Q2 2025 vs. Q1 2025)
1	Winston-Salem, NC	100.00	4.35%	-43.48%
2	Boise, ID	66.40	7.43%	-19.80%
3	Honolulu, HI	62.12	9.31%	-16.79%
4	Denver, CO	61.77	12.05%	-16.54%
5	Laredo, TX	61.00	16.87%	-16.00%
6	Gilbert, AZ	60.72	8.84%	-15.80%
7	Greensboro, NC	59.78	20.81%	-15.14%
8	Portland, OR	55.59	9.24%	-12.18%
9	Newark, NJ	54.38	27.42%	-11.33%
10	Nashville, TN	54.08	12.99%	-11.12%
11	St. Louis, MO	53.99	9.62%	-11.06%
12	Washington, DC	53.35	15.50%	-10.61%
13	Cleveland, OH	53.29	18.37%	-10.57%
14	Henderson, NV	53.27	13.17%	-10.55%
15	Plano, TX	52.61	13.16%	-10.09%
16	Boston, MA	52.36	12.30%	-9.91%
17	Jersey City, NJ	52.18	15.53%	-9.79%
18	Baltimore, MD	52.16	18.55%	-9.77%
19	Los Angeles, CA	51.98	12.99%	-9.64%
20	New York, NY	51.90	11.82%	-9.59%
21	Houston, TX	51.75	17.19%	-9.48%
22	Dallas, TX	51.51	13.08%	-9.31%
23	Riverside, CA	51.22	9.88%	-9.11%
24	Baton Rouge, LA	51.08	20.12%	-9.01%
25	Atlanta, GA	51.00	16.32%	-8.95%
26	Fort Wayne, IN	50.78	15.65%	-8.80%
27	Philadelphia, PA	50.66	19.84%	-8.71%
28	Richmond, VA	50.16	16.84%	-8.36%
29	San Antonio, TX	50.09	16.07%	-8.31%
30	Buffalo, NY	50.07	17.05%	-8.30%
31	Memphis, TN	49.85	25.00%	-8.14%
32	Charlotte, NC	49.49	20.26%	-7.89%
33	Arlington, TX	49.37	13.01%	-7.81%
34	Tucson, AZ	49.32	11.00%	-7.77%
35	Indianapolis, IN	49.30	15.14%	-7.75%
36	Chandler, AZ	48.96	13.10%	-7.51%
37	Hialeah, FL	48.89	10.78%	-7.47%
38	Phoenix, AZ	48.63	13.98%	-7.29%
39	Long Beach, CA	48.63	14.16%	-7.28%
40	Columbus, OH	48.52	15.02%	-7.20%
41	Austin, TX	48.48	10.06%	-7.17%
42	San Bernardino, CA	48.22	18.32%	-7.00%
43	Tampa, FL	48.18	13.60%	-6.97%
44	Fresno, CA	48.05	11.88%	-6.87%
45	Fort Worth, TX	47.80	15.33%	-6.69%
46	Santa Ana, CA	47.70	10.50%	-6.63%
47	Minneapolis, MN	47.68	16.28%	-6.62%
48	Louisville, KY	47.50	15.08%	-6.49%
49	Albuquerque, NM	47.31	11.76%	-6.35%
50	Orlando, FL	47.19	15.50%	-6.27%
51	Milwaukee, WI	46.93	19.60%	-6.08%
52	Detroit, MI	46.84	31.25%	-6.02%
53	Pittsburgh, PA	46.84	15.54%	-6.02%
54	Raleigh, NC	46.52	18.15%	-5.80%
55	Jacksonville, FL	46.27	14.27%	-5.62%
56	Las Vegas, NV	45.82	15.24%	-5.30%
57	Mesa, AZ	45.78	10.60%	-5.27%
58	Sacramento, CA	45.63	14.41%	-5.17%
59	North Las Vegas, NV	45.55	17.76%	-5.11%
60	San Francisco, CA	45.40	7.32%	-5.01%
61	Miami, FL	45.34	9.59%	-4.96%
62	Cincinnati, OH	45.17	16.22%	-4.85%
63	Des Moines, IA	45.15	11.03%	-4.83%
64	Toledo, OH	44.96	16.58%	-4.70%
65	Wichita, KS	44.39	11.63%	-4.30%
66	Oklahoma City, OK	44.18	10.52%	-4.15%
67	Spokane, WA	44.04	12.38%	-4.05%
68	Irving, TX	44.02	11.91%	-4.03%
69	Reno, NV	43.88	11.47%	-3.93%
70	San Diego, CA	43.71	10.97%	-3.82%
71	Bakersfield, CA	43.57	13.54%	-3.72%
72	El Paso, TX	43.44	14.80%	-3.62%
73	Lincoln, NE	43.04	10.20%	-3.34%
74	Anchorage, AK	42.98	14.54%	-3.30%
75	Chicago, IL	42.43	15.89%	-2.92%
76	Lubbock, TX	42.19	14.11%	-2.74%
77	Kansas City, MO	42.12	15.45%	-2.69%
78	Colorado Springs, CO	41.59	13.07%	-2.32%
79	Birmingham, AL	41.33	21.71%	-2.14%
80	New Orleans, LA	41.10	18.51%	-1.98%
81	Tulsa, OK	40.33	13.89%	-1.43%
82	Irvine, CA	40.04	9.69%	-1.23%
83	Virginia Beach, VA	39.87	14.52%	-1.11%
84	Corpus Christi, TX	39.39	14.26%	-0.77%
85	Chesapeake, VA	38.80	16.25%	-0.35%
86	Oakland, CA	38.29	15.95%	0.00%
86	Aurora, CO	38.29	14.37%	0.00%
88	Durham, NC	38.22	23.86%	0.05%
89	Omaha, NE	38.12	12.84%	0.12%
90	Norfolk, VA	37.84	15.87%	0.32%
91	Glendale, AZ	37.51	14.13%	0.55%
92	Chula Vista, CA	37.35	10.63%	0.66%
93	San Jose, CA	36.62	9.89%	1.18%
94	Scottsdale, AZ	36.33	9.41%	1.39%
95	Anaheim, CA	34.83	10.49%	2.44%
96	Garland, TX	33.67	14.14%	3.26%
97	Seattle, WA	33.04	8.21%	3.70%
98	Stockton, CA	32.26	13.17%	4.25%
99	Fremont, CA	20.55	6.00%	12.50%
100	Madison, WI	0.00	10.33%	26.98%

Note: *No. 1 = Largest Decrease

In-Depth Look at the Top Cities Least Delinquent on Auto Loans

Winston-Salem, NC

Winston-Salem, NC is the city where auto loan delinquency is decreasing the most, as nearly 43.5% fewer loans were delinquent in Q2 2025 compared to Q1 2025. In other words, a significant number of people have gotten back on track with their loan payments in the past quarter. Winston-Salem also has a relatively low auto loan delinquency rate in general, with fewer than 4.4% of loans delinquent as of Q2 2025.

What’s interesting to note is that even as auto loan delinquency is decreasing a lot in Winston-Salem, the city is also among those where credit card delinquency is decreasing the most. This indicates that people are keeping up with both types of debt, possibly reflecting strong financial discipline or economic stability in the area.

Boise, ID

Boise, ID, residents decreased their auto loan delinquency rate by nearly 20% between Q1 2025 and Q2 2025. This significant decrease reflects the strong progress the city has made. However, over 7.4% of all auto loans were still delinquent as of Q2 2025 — only the fourth-lowest rate recorded.

It’s not all too surprising that Boise residents are decreasing their auto loan delinquency rate, as the city also had one of the lowest average credit card delinquency rates in Q1 2025 and has relatively few residents in financial distress.

Honolulu, HI

Honolulu, HI, had the third-largest decrease in auto loan delinquency, with nearly 16.8% fewer loans delinquent in Q2 2025 compared to Q1 2025. In general, though, Honolulu maintains a relatively low delinquency rate, with around 9.3% of loans delinquent as of Q2 2025.

Honolulu residents may be showing a slight tendency to prioritize paying off auto loan debt over credit card debt, as the city ranks in the middle tier, placing 45th out of 100 cities where credit card delinquency is increasing the most. This makes sense because auto loans are secured debt while credit cards are unsecured debt. Failing to pay your auto loans can lead to you losing your car.

Methodology

To determine the cities least delinquent on auto loans, we analyzed WalletHub’s proprietary user data on consumer delinquency rates between Q1 2025 and Q2 2025.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of July 24, 2025 from WalletHub’s database.

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