Collection accounts can greatly damage a person’s credit score and remain on their credit report for seven years, and increases in collection accounts in a city indicate that people are experiencing difficulty paying their bills. To see where Americans are in the most financial danger, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its new report on the Cities With the Most Collection Accounts. Charlotte, NC was ranked 82nd out of the top 100 cities.
| Biggest Collection Account Problem | Smallest Collection Account Problem |
| 1. Laredo, TX | 91. Lincoln, NE |
| 2. Corpus Christi, TX | 92. Greensboro, NC |
| 3. Irvine, CA | 93. Honolulu, HI |
| 4. Plano, TX | 94. Portland, OR |
| 5. Irving, TX | 95. Cleveland, OH |
| 6. Omaha, NE | 96. San Francisco, CA |
| 7. Henderson, NV | 97. Des Moines, IA |
| 8. Austin, TX | 98. Hialeah, FL |
| 9. Dallas, TX | 99. Washington, DC |
| 10. New Orleans, LA | 100. Winston-Salem, NC |
Methodology
In order to determine the cities with the most collection accounts, WalletHub compared 100 of the largest cities across two key dimensions: 1) Collection Accounts Status and 2) Change in Average Collection Accounts. We evaluated those dimensions using 4 relevant metrics listed below with their corresponding weights, each metric being graded on a 100-point scale.
Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Collection Accounts Status – Total Points: 75
- Average No. of Collection Accounts in Q2 2024 (per Resident in Collections): Full Weight (~50.00 Points)
- Average Collection Account Balance per Tradeline in Q2 2024: Half Weight (~25.00 Points)
Change in Average Collection Accounts – Total Points: 25
- Change in Average No. of Collection Accounts (per Resident in Collections) from Q1 to Q2 2024: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
- Change in Average Collection Account Balance per Tradeline from Q1 to Q2 2024: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of July 17, 2024 from WalletHub’s database.
For the full report and to see where your city ranks, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-collection-accounts/139535
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