mortgage delinquency – A WalletHub study tracking delinquent home loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 shows mortgage payment trouble spreading across many states. It ranks 20 states by where delinquent mortgages increased the most, using data collected in April from its database and showi
The first missed payments often look like an administrative problem. But in U.S. mortgage data, once a payment is at least 30 days late, it is marked delinquent and reported to credit bureaus.
A WalletHub study released this month put a spotlight on where that credit-damaging reality worsened fastest. Using data collected in April from WalletHub’s own database, the study ranked the 50 U.S. states by where delinquent mortgages increased the most from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. It identified each state’s share of the average number of delinquent loans in the first quarter of 2026—its mortgage delinquency rate—and calculated how much the number of delinquent mortgages changed from the previous quarter.
Across the top of the list, the pattern is blunt: most states did not cool down going into 2026. Only one state posted a double-digit decrease in delinquent mortgages from the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026. Wyoming was the only one to record a double-digit decrease, falling by 14.41%. Nebraska and Mississippi followed with decreases of 7.88% and 4.27%, respectively.
For the remaining states on the upper end of the delinquency increase rankings, the quarter-to-quarter move was the story—an escalation that can tighten household budgets and ripple into the housing market.
In Q1 2026, the states showing the biggest increases in delinquent mortgage loans were:
20. South Carolina
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 10.38%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 1.63%
19. Alaska
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 6.00%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 1.94%
18. Alabama
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 10.85%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.04%
17. Nevada
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 5.81%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.07%
16. Tennessee
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 9.21%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.08%
15. Oregon
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 4.95%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.09%
14. Illinois
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 6.97%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.37%
13. California
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 4.81%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.53%
12. Rhode Island
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 7.34%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.55%
11. North Carolina
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 8.57%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.70%
10. Idaho
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 6.12%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.83%
9. Texas
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 9.44%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 2.97%
8. Colorado
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 5.02%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 3.29%
7. New Hampshire
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 6.25%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 3.30%
6. Connecticut
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 8.00%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 3.38%
5. Montana
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 5.33%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 3.71%
4. Florida
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 7.05%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 3.87%
3. Louisiana
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 14.33%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 4.40%
2. Delaware
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 8.35%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 6.92%
1. Vermont
Mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026: 5.81%
Increase in delinquent mortgage loans from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026: 12.32%
The housing pressure behind the numbers has been building. In recent years, the economy hasn’t been kind to homeowners and those looking to buy. Many potential buyers can’t afford to buy a home, with the average 30-year mortgage rate over 6%. For the people who do take on a home loan. other costs are waiting—property taxes and insurance. along with repair costs—piling onto the baseline monthly mortgage payment. Some homeowners also face more challenging job markets.
Even where the delinquency rate in Q1 2026 is lower. the quarter-over-quarter change can still be steep—like Vermont. where delinquent mortgage loans rose by 12.32% from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. In Delaware, the rate in Q1 2026 is 8.35%, but the increase is larger still at 6.92%. Louisiana combines both a high mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 2026—14.33%—and a sizable quarterly increase of 4.40%.
Taken together, the study’s rankings show a housing system where the struggle doesn’t stay contained. Once payments slip past the 30-day mark and become delinquent, the damage is immediate in credit reporting—and the count of such loans can rise quickly from one quarter to the next, state by state.
As 2026 moves forward, the question for homeowners is how long these trends hold. The study captured one early snapshot—Q1 2026 compared with Q4 2025—and for many states on the list, the direction was unmistakably worse.
mortgage delinquency Q4 2025 Q1 2026 WalletHub study housing affordability mortgage rates credit bureau delinquent loans South Carolina Vermont Delaware