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Debt – Any Debt in Collections

This indicator reports data from a 2 percent nationally representative panel of deidentified, consumer-level records from a major credit bureau at the national, state, and county levels for the 50 states and Washington, DC, as of 2023, compiled by the Urban Institute. The share with any debt in collections and the median debt in collections within the report area are shown as below. The Share with Any Debt in Collections is defined as the share of people with a credit bureau record who have any debt in collections. This includes past-due credit lines that have been closed and charged-off on the creditor’s books as well as unpaid bills reported to the credit bureaus that the creditor is attempting to collect. The Median Debt in Collections is the median amount of all debt in collections among those with any debt in collections.

Note: Credit bureau metrics are not reported when they are based on fewer than 50 people.

Source

Source Description

The Urban Institute is a Washington D.C.-based non-profit research organization focused on economic and social policy research about the well-being of people and places in the United States.

Methodology

This indicator reports information derived from a 2 percent nationally representative panel of deidentified, consumer-level records from a major credit bureau. The credit bureau data are from February 2022 and contain more than 5 million records. The data also incorporate estimates from summary tables of the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). ACS one-year estimates (2019) is used where possible, but for areas with smaller populations and for metrics that incorporate zip code–level information, the ACS five-year estimates (2015–19). People of color are defined as those who are African American, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, another race other than white, or multiracial.

Debt in collections includes past-due credit lines that have been closed and charged-off on the creditor’s books as well as unpaid bills reported to the credit bureaus that the creditor is attempting to collect. For example, credit card accounts enter collections once they are 180 days past due. Retail installment loans are retail purchases with installment terms—for example, a loan from a furniture store to buy a couch. Data are reported at the national, state, and county levels for the 50 states and Washington, DC. For more information, please see the technical appendix.

Note:
Credit bureau metrics are not reported when they are based on fewer than 50 people.

Data Breakouts Available

  • Share with Any Debt in Collections by Race
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