Falling behind on debt payments can have serious long-term consequences, including significant damage to your credit score and substantial financial costs. Late fees can quickly add up, and interest will continue to accrue. When it comes to auto loan debt, the stakes are even higher, if payments are overdue for too long, your vehicle could be repossessed.
To determine where auto loan delinquency is rising the most and where people’s vehicles are at the greatest risk, WalletHub analyzed proprietary user data on consumer delinquency rates across all 50 states between Q3 2024 and Q4 2024.
John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor
Main Findings
States Where Auto Loan Delinquency Is Increasing the Most
| Overall Rank* | State | Share of Average Number of Auto Loan Tradelines Delinquent in Q4 2024 | Change in Average Number of Auto Loan Tradelines Delinquent (Q4 2024 vs. Q3 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | 21.11% | 8.77% |
| 2 | Kansas | 14.61% | 7.89% |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 14.47% | 7.41% |
| 4 | Montana | 14.69% | 7.36% |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 15.82% | 7.21% |
| 6 | Colorado | 14.78% | 6.92% |
| 7 | Washington | 13.22% | 6.86% |
| 8 | Alabama | 21.52% | 6.82% |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 14.73% | 6.75% |
| 10 | Arizona | 16.52% | 6.46% |
| 11 | Connecticut | 17.94% | 6.39% |
| 12 | Oregon | 13.00% | 6.33% |
| 13 | New York | 16.23% | 6.29% |
| 14 | South Carolina | 20.73% | 6.20% |
| 15 | Illinois | 16.09% | 5.91% |
| 16 | Florida | 15.66% | 5.84% |
| 17 | Georgia | 21.11% | 5.80% |
| 18 | Idaho | 11.87% | 5.71% |
| 19 | Tennessee | 18.07% | 5.65% |
| 20 | North Dakota | 14.32% | 5.60% |
| 21 | New Mexico | 18.75% | 5.58% |
| 22 | California | 14.84% | 5.55% |
| 23 | Texas | 19.05% | 5.47% |
| 24 | Missouri | 17.02% | 5.25% |
| 25 | North Carolina | 22.17% | 5.14% |
| 26 | Virginia | 18.12% | 5.09% |
| 27 | Mississippi | 27.32% | 5.06% |
| 28 | Indiana | 18.50% | 4.94% |
| 29 | Rhode Island | 15.23% | 4.83% |
| 30 | Ohio | 15.92% | 4.81% |
| 31 | South Dakota | 15.20% | 4.80% |
| 32 | Louisiana | 25.17% | 4.64% |
| 33 | West Virginia | 20.57% | 4.58% |
| 34 | Iowa | 11.40% | 4.50% |
| 35 | Kentucky | 18.52% | 4.30% |
| 36 | Michigan | 20.55% | 3.96% |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 14.39% | 3.87% |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | 18.41% | 3.79% |
| 39 | Nevada | 18.90% | 3.78% |
| 40 | Minnesota | 16.57% | 3.63% |
| 41 | Alaska | 15.57% | 3.55% |
| 42 | Nebraska | 14.24% | 3.14% |
| 43 | Maryland | 19.27% | 2.92% |
| 44 | Vermont | 14.49% | 2.43% |
| 45 | Maine | 14.52% | 2.33% |
| 46 | Hawaii | 15.29% | 2.28% |
| 47 | Utah | 11.01% | 2.16% |
| 48 | Wyoming | 14.34% | 2.15% |
| 49 | New Jersey | 17.94% | 2.06% |
| 50 | Arkansas | 18.65% | 2.02% |
Note: *No. 1 = Largest Increase
In-Depth Look at the Top States Where Auto Loan Delinquency Is Increasing Most
Delaware
Auto loan delinquency is increasing the most in Delaware, as the state’s residents were delinquent on 8.8% more auto loans in Q4 2024 than they were during Q3 2024.
Unfortunately, with this significant increase, Delaware has one of the highest auto loan delinquency rates overall, with around 21.1% of borrowers behind on their payments.
Despite the increase in delinquency, Delaware is seeing a reduction in auto loan debt, as the state was among the 26 that saw a decrease. This trend could help lower future delinquency rates.
Kansas
Kansas had the second-highest increase in auto loan delinquency from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024. Residents were behind on payments for 7.9% more auto loans in the fourth quarter.
Interestingly, despite this uptick, Kansans have one of the lowest average auto loan debt in the country, ranking 12th-lowest, which could indicate that the delinquency increase is more related to financial strain rather than loan size.
While delinquency rates have increased from Q3 to Q4, Kansas still holds one of the lowest overall auto loan delinquency rates in the country, ranking 13th at 14.6%, reflecting a more stable outlook overall.
New Hampshire
Auto loan delinquency in New Hampshire increased by 7.4% between Q3 2024 and Q4 2024, which ranks third nationally. However, New Hampshire still has a low auto loan delinquency rate overall. Around 14.5% of borrowers are behind on their payments, which beats all but nine other states despite the recent increase.
People in New Hampshire should be cautious given the recent trend, but they probably aren’t in too much danger considering their total auto loan debt.
Methodology
To determine the states most delinquent on auto loans, we analyzed WalletHub’s proprietary user data on consumer delinquency rates between Q3 2024 and Q4 2024.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of March 20, 2025 from WalletHub database.
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