Maybe it's that Midwest notion of taking care of our responsibilities? An updated comparison of credit card delinquency rates for the United States shows that both Minnesota and Wisconsin credit card holders live up to their financial responsibilities - at last when it comes to maintaining their accounts.

In fact, one of our states clocks in as having the lowest delinquency rate in the country.

The ranking was recently calculated and shared by Upgraded Points - a clearing house for "credit cards, rewards programs, travel information, and ancillary information concerning travel and credit cards" - as self-described on their website.  To calculate the rankings, they utilized public information from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Household Debt and Credit Report and Experian's FICO Score By State.  Using that data, they "calculated the share of credit card balances at least 90 days delinquent as of the fourth quarter of 2021".

The states that topped the list - in other words, those states with the highest credit card delinquency rates - represent some of the more populated regions in the country. Here is a sneak peak of the top ten states with their respective delinquency rates (again, based on being at least 90 days delinquent):

  • 1:  Nevada - 12.00%
  • 2:  Florida - 10.66%
  • 3:  Arkansas - 10.23%
  • 4:  Texas - 9.43%
  • 5:  Arizona - 9.40%
  • 6:  Oklahoma - 9.16%
  • 7:  California - 9.07%
  • 8:  New Mexico - 9.07%
  • 9:  New York - 8.94%
  • 10:  Georgia - 8.91%

As part of their survey ranking, Upgraded Points provided an analysis that compared each states current ranking in 4th Quarter of 2021 to a pre-pandemic 4th Quarter 2019.  That comparison shows that there wasn't much movement pre- and post-pandemic; most of the states obtained similar scores.

So where did Minnesota and Wisconsin end up? Well, you need to look at the bottom five states to get their rankings.  And - in fact - one of the two states clocked in at the very bottom - meaning that its residents had the lowest credit card delinquency rates.  Here's that "bottom five":

  • 46:  Vermont - 6.03%
  • 47:  Minnesota - 5.78%
  • 48:  Washington - 5.77%
  • 49:  Utah - 5.66%
  • 50:  Wisconsin - 5.34%

Maybe there is something to say about Midwestern values of hard work and responsibility.

Some other takeaways from Upgraded Points ranking:

  • Credit delinquency rates dipped at first during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  This can be related to things like "stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, and loan forbearance [which] allowed people to pay down their debts early" on.
  • Later in the pandemic, the rate of credit card use rose again tied to "inflation and increasing prices".
  • While overall credit card debt is lower today than pre-pandemic levels, it "experienced its fastest rate of growth in nearly 20 years" during the 2nd Quarter 2022, when compared to 2nd Quarter 2021.

You can check out the entire list - including an interactive map that details the survey rankings - at upgradedpoints.com.

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