(The Center Square) – Roughly 1 in 11 mortgages for Kentucky homes were in delinquent status during the first three months of the year, a for-profit personal finance company says.

The state ranked fifth in share of mortgages with payments more than 30 days past due, said WalletHub. As concerns about the economy have risen since the start of the year, so too has Kentucky’s delinquency rate. At 9.06% for the first quarter, it was 15% higher than the fourth quarter of last year.

WalletHub says it examined mortgage data in all 50 states. It found the delinquency rate increased in each during the first quarter by at least 4.68%.

Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey found that the seasonally adjusted rate grew by 3.94% at the end of the first quarter across all types of loans – including conventional, Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs.

Association Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh said while the overall increase was relatively small, still all three of the major mortgage types reported higher delinquency rates on a year-to-year basis.

“Higher unemployment, lower personal savings, increases in property taxes and insurance and a run-up in credit card debt and delinquency contributed to conditions that would make it tougher for some homeowners to make their mortgage payments,” Walsh said.

In 2008, the state established the Kentucky Homeownership Protection Center to help homeowners facing difficulties in paying their mortgages. The center offers free assistance and advice to struggling homeowners.