A new study demonstrates that car affordability is worsening, with missed car loan payments rising nationwide. Mississippi has the highest percentage of auto loan balances delinquent for 90 days or more.
Highest Rate of Delinquent Loans
Wrongful Repossession Attorneys Thompson Consumer Law Group analyzed 2022 and 2023 auto loan data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to see which states had the highest percentage of auto loan balances delinquent for 90 days or more. A loan becomes delinquent once a borrower misses a payment.
The study also found that the percentage of auto loan balances with at least 90 days of delinquency is increasing nationwide. Between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, the percentage of auto loan balances delinquent for 90 days or more in America increased from 3.81% to 4.2%, and every state saw an increase in the percentage of delinquent auto loan balances.
Top 5 States Missing Car Payments
1. Mississippi
Mississippi tops the list of states with the highest percentage of auto loan balances in a minimum of 90 days of delinquency in Q4 2023 at 6.77%, 61% above the national average of 4.2%. The increase of 0.67 percentage points from 6.1% in Q4 2022, 2022’s highest figure is the fourth largest percentage point increase in America.
2. Alabama
Alabama is second, with 6.05% of auto loan balances in at least 90 days of delinquency in Q4 2023, 44% above the national average. Alabama also had the second-highest figure in Q4 2022 of 5.58%.
3. Georgia
Georgia has the third highest percentage of auto loan balances that have been unpaid for 90 days or more in Q4 2023, moving up from fourth in Q4 2022. This percentage stands at 5.71% in Q4 2023, 36% above the national average, a 0.76 percentage point increase from Q4 2022’s figure of 4.96%. This is the second largest percentage point increase in America.
4. Louisiana
In fourth is Louisiana, moving down one place from 2022. In Q4 2022, the percentage of auto loan balances with 90 days of non-payment or more was 5.44%, which increased to 5.69% in Q4 2023, a figure 35% above the national average of 4.2%.
5. Indiana
Indiana rose two places from seventh in 2022 to fifth in 2023. Auto loan balances in 90 days of delinquency or more increased from 4.72% in 2022 to 5.29% in 2023, 26% above the national average.
Are Auto Loans Unaffordable?
Russell S. Thompson, Managing Partner at Thompson Consumer Law Group, said:
“When an auto loan has 90 days of non-payment, that is usually when lenders start to attempt to repossess a vehicle, so an increase of auto loan balances with 90 days or more of delinquency will likely mean more repossessions.
Auto loan delinquency is still rising across America, with every state showing some increase in delinquency in 2023, likely meaning repossessions will increase in kind."
