(The Center Square) – As fears of recession grow, a new report found that Seattle and Spokane are among the top five cities with increasing numbers of people not paying their credit card bills.
WalletHub published data on Wednesday, ranking 100 cities nationwide where more and more debtors are missing their credit card payments. While Fremont, Calif., topped the list, with the Golden State claiming 16 other spots, Washington state landed at the third- and fourth-highest.
The study compared the 100 largest cities using proprietary user data on delinquency rates from the first-quarter of fiscal year 2024 to the first quarter of 2025. WalletHub Financial Writer Adam McCann says that sharp increases in delinquency can signal tough times are ahead, but not 100% of the time.
“Seattle has relatively low credit card debt and has the second-lowest overall delinquency rate across all types of debt, suggesting strong financial management among residents,” according to the WalletHub report. “But any increase in credit card delinquency could be a sign of growing stress in particular populations or of growing expenses straining even well-managed budgets.”
The number of delinquent credit card accounts in Seattle increased by 15.01% from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, the third highest nationwide. Meanwhile, the average number of accounts in Spokane rose by 14.76%, ranking it as the fourth-highest city in terms of average delinquency increase.
That increase peaked at 28.66% in Fremont, with Plano, Texas, coming in at the second-highest with a 17.57% rise in delinquent credit card accounts. The six cities at the bottom of the ranking all experienced a decrease in the average number of delinquent credit card accounts there.
The data comes on the cusp of Congress passing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which could add roughly $4 trillion in national debt by 2034 under the Senate-passed version.
The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday, and the House of Representatives did so on Thursday.
According to the Center for American Progress, the debt under Trump’s agenda could drive up borrowing costs for families, raising financial concerns around higher interest rates and inflation.
“Research has consistently found that increases in the government debt ratio drive up inflation and long-term interest rates,” according to CAP, “which in turn increases borrowing costs.”
Consumer confidence, an indicator that measures spending attitudes, dropped again in June after rebounding in May, following five consecutive months of decline since Trump took office.
The decline was observed across all age groups and income levels, with the largest significant drop among Republicans. The Conference Board’s Expectations Index, a short-term outlook on market conditions, fell 4.6 points to 69; typically, anything under 80 signals a recession ahead.
“If you miss a credit card payment, don’t panic! Your issuer won’t report you as delinquent to the credit bureaus until you’re 30 days late,” WalletHub Editor John Kiernan wrote. You’ll still have to deal with any late fee or penalty rate consequences your issuer decides to implement, but if you can manage to get current before 30 days are up, you can avoid a big credit score hit.”
