Cities Where People Are the Most Diligent With Credit (2026)

Being credit-diligent means borrowing responsibly, paying on time, and taking steps to guard against identity theft and fraud. One effective safeguard is freezing your credit report when you’re not actively applying for new credit, which makes it harder for criminals to open accounts in your name.

To see which major cities stand out for protecting and managing credit, WalletHub reviewed 100 of the largest U.S. cities across six key factors from missed payments to frozen credit reports to active bankruptcies.

“The people who are most diligent with their credit always make their monthly payments on time and limit what they borrow to what they can actually afford to pay back. Many people don’t realize that credit diligence goes further than just being responsible with your borrowing and payments, though. Monitoring your accounts and credit reports for any signs of fraud is also very important, as inaccurate information can tank your credit score. Freezing your credit reports when you’re not applying for credit can also protect you from identity theft and fraud.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Cities Where People Are Most Diligent With Credit

Note: *No. 1 = Most Diligent

% of Customers Who Have Collections Tradelines (Q2 2025)

Lowest

• 1. Fremont, CA
• 2. Seattle, WA
• 3. Washington, DC
• 4. Scottsdale, AZ
• 5. Honolulu, HI

Highest

• 96. Lubbock, TX
• 97. Laredo, TX
• 98. Memphis, TN
• 99. Detroit, MI
• 100. Corpus Christi, TX

Best City vs. Worst City: 4x Difference

Fremont, CA vs. Corpus Christi, TX

% of Frozen Credit Reports (Q2 2025)

Lowest

• T-1. Washington, DC
• T-1. Fremont, CA
• T-1. Aurora, CO
• T-1. Plano, TX
• T-1. San Francisco, CA

Highest

• 96. Virginia Beach, VA
• 97. San Bernardino, CA
• 98. Corpus Christi, TX
• 99. Laredo, TX
• 100. Garland, TX

Best City vs. Worst City: 4x Difference

Washington, DC vs. Garland, TX

% of Customers Who Have Missed Payments (Q2 2025)

Lowest

• 1. Fremont, CA
• 2. San Francisco, CA
• 3. Seattle, WA
• 4. Honolulu, HI
• T-5. St. Louis, MO
• T-5. Scottsdale, AZ

Highest

• 96. Laredo, TX
• 97. Greensboro, NC
• 98. Newark, NJ
• 99. Detroit, MI
• 100. Memphis, TN

Best City vs. Worst City: 5x Difference

Fremont, CA vs. Memphis, TN

% of Customers Who Have Active Bankruptcies (Q2 2025)

Lowest

• T-1. Boston, MA
• T-1. Honolulu, HI
• T-1. Anaheim, CA
• T-1. Santa Ana, CA
• T-1. St. Louis, MO

Highest

• T-92. Indianapolis, IN
• T-92. Louisville, KY
• T-92. Winston-Salem, NC
• T-92. Memphis, TN
• T-92. Birmingham, AL

% of Customers Who Have Foreclosures (Q2 2025)

Lowest

• T-1. Fresno, CA
• T-1. Honolulu, HI
• T-1. St. Louis, MO
• T-1. Anchorage, AK
• T-1. Plano, TX

Highest

• 96. Tulsa, OK
• 97. Garland, TX
• 98. Memphis, TN
• T-99. Birmingham, AL
• T-99. Detroit, MI

% of Customers Who Filed a Dispute in the Past 9 Months

Highest

• 1. Winston-Salem, NC
• 2. Richmond, VA
• 3. Birmingham, AL
• 4. Memphis, TN
• 5. Henderson, NV

Lowest

• T-58. Corpus Christi, TX
• T-58. Riverside, CA
• T-58. St. Louis, MO
• T-58. Anchorage, AK
• T-58. Greensboro, NC

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In Depth Look at the Top Cities

Fremont, CA

Fremont, CA, is the city where people are the most diligent with credit, boasting the lowest percentage of people who missed payments during Q2 2025. Due to residents being diligent about paying on time, the city also had the lowest percentage of people with collection accounts, one of the lowest percentages with foreclosures, and one of the lowest percentages with active bankruptcies during Q2 2025.

In addition, around 6% of Fremont residents had frozen credit reports, which demonstrates that they are being proactive about avoiding fraud.

Honolulu, HI

Honolulu has the second-most credit-diligent residents, in part because it had the 11th highest percentage of people with frozen credit reports during Q2 2025, at nearly 5%. In other words, nearly 1 in 20 Honolulu residents have put measures in place that prevent unauthorized entities from accessing their credit reports and opening accounts in their name.

Honolulu also had the fourth-lowest percentage of residents who missed payments on credit accounts during Q2 2025. This in turn contributed to the city having one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the country and the fifth-lowest percentage of residents with collection accounts.

Seattle, WA

Seattle ranks third in the country when it comes to how diligent residents are with credit, in large part because it had the third-lowest percentage of residents who missed a payment on any type of credit during Q2 2025. As a result, it comes as no surprise that the city also had the second-lowest percentage of residents with collection accounts and the second-lowest percentage with foreclosures during the same time period. After all, accounts only fall into collections or foreclosure after payments are delinquent for an extended period of time. Seattle had the third-lowest share of residents with active bankruptcies during Q2 2025, too.

On top of that, nearly 5% of Seattle residents had frozen credit reports, the ninth-highest percentage in the country. This shows that a significant number of people took steps to make sure fraudsters can’t open credit accounts in their name.

Methodology

To identify the cities where people are the most diligent about credit, WalletHub compared 100 U.S. cities across six key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of diligence.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting score to rank-order our sample.

• Percentage of Customers Who Have Collections Tradelines (Q2 2025): Double Weight (~30.77 Points)
• Percentage of Frozen Credit Reports (Q2 2025): Full Weight (~15.38 Points)
• Percentage of Customers Who Have Missed Payments (Q2 2025): Full Weight (~15.38 Points)
• Percentage of Customers Who Have Active Bankruptcies (Q2 2025): Full Weight (~15.38 Points)
• Percentage of Customers Who Have Foreclosures (Q2 2025): Full Weight (~15.38 Points)
• Percentage of Customers Who Have Filled a Dispute in the Last Three Quarters (Q4 2024 & Q1 2025 & Q2 2025): Half Weight (~7.69 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from WalletHub’s database.

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